While Apple has been touting its ever-growing Services segment as the future of growth, one analyst has concerns. As reported by CNBC, Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi has addressed concerns that the growing revolt against Apple’s 70/30 App Store revenue will hurt its long-term growth.
In a note to investors, Sacconaghi writes that investors are worried about developers revolting against this “Apple Tax,” which may hurt the growth of Apple’s Services segment:
“While the services segment grew 18 percent in the December quarter, we’ve now started to get investor questions worrying about whether the App Store will be the next shoe to drop,” Sacconaghi wrote. “Certainly, the headlines in the last few months haven’t been encouraging. Netflix, Spotify, and Fortnite have all stopped / threatened to stop paying the so-called ‘Apple Tax’ of 15 to 30 percent on App Store revenues.”
On the other hand, Sacconaghi acknowledges that the 30 percent cut that Apple takes through the App Store is what has pushed the App Store to account for 40 percent of all services growth.
This concern from investors comes following Netflix’s decision last month to remove in-app billing functionality from its iOS app for new customers. Other developers, such as Epic Games, have also expressed concerns over the revenue sharing model.
Ultimately, however, Sacconaghi acknowledges these concerns, but believes the iPhone is still the biggest thing for Apple investors to worry about. Sacconaghi says he’s not concerned at all about “disintermediation” of the App Store, though he doesn’t address the possibility of other big name companies following in Netflix’s footsteps.
“We are not concerned – at all – about potential disintermediation of the App Store,” he wrote. Instead the analyst is worried about the iPhone and believes estimates for sale of the smart phone may need to come down more.
What do you think? Is it time for Apple to reconsider its 70-30 split on the App Store? Let us know down in the comments.
Subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments