Apple CEO warns of future supply issues as hardware sales rocket

Supply challenges will be 'greater' in next quarter according to CEO Tim Cook

Apple smashed revenue expectations for its Q3 - reporting total net sales of $81.4bn, up 36 per cent year-on-year.

Net sales in Europe were reported as $18.9bn, up from $14.2bn for the same quarter in 2020, while Mac sales overall grew by more than $1bn year-over-year to $8.2bn.

Its services revenue was up 33 per cent year-on-year to $17.5bn, contributing towards a "record June quarter" for the business, with net income also increasing by more than $10bn year-over-year to $21.7bn.

"This quarter, our teams built on a period of unmatched innovation by sharing powerful new products with our users, at a time when using technology to connect people everywhere has never been more important," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO.

"We're continuing to press forward in our work to infuse everything we make with the values that define us — by inspiring a new generation of developers to learn to code, moving closer to our 2030 environment goal, and engaging in the urgent work of building a more equitable future."

However, Cook issued a warning over supply constraints which he said would be "greater" in the September quarter and would impact sales, despite still anticipating "very strong double-digit, year-over-year revenue growth".

iPhone sales flew during the latest quarter, increasing almost 50 per cent to $39.6bn, with iPad sales growing from $6.6bn to $7.4bn.

"Our record June quarter operating performance included new revenue records in each of our geographic segments, double-digit growth in each of our product categories, and a new all-time high for our installed base of active devices," said Luca Maestri, Apple's CFO.

"We generated $21bn of operating cash flow, returned nearly $29 billion to our shareholders during the quarter, and continued to make significant investments across our business to support our long-term growth plans."