While there have been concerns about iPhone 15 sales in China, early signs in the United States are more positive. Speaking during AT&T’s Q3 earnings call last week, CEO John Stankey said the carrier saw “the strongest iPhone pre-orders we’ve had in years” thanks to the iPhone 15 lineup.
AT&T’s earnings pushed its stock towards having its best week in over a year, with the company citing strong smartphone sales and optimistic cash flow numbers. Part of this, or perhaps the majority of it, was driven by September’s iPhone 15 launch.
Speaking to investors on Thursday, Stankey said that the iPhone 15 launch marks the “strongest iPhone pre-orders” that AT&T has seen “in many years.” The CEO noted that this success came despite other carriers offering more lucrative promotions for upgraders.
In wireless, our consistent go-to-market approach, continues to expand our base of high-value subscribers. Our results show that our best deal for everyone approach continues to resonate with customers.
For example, in September, we saw the strongest iPhone preorders we’ve had in many years despite competing promotions with higher subsidies allowing lower-value device trade-ins. This is a testament to both the simplicity of our offers and the strength of our consistent and straightforward value proposition, as well as the quality of our network.
Stankey also pointed out that “the vast majority” of iPhone buyers are signing up for AT&T’s “highest-value plans, even though it’s not a promo requirement.” The carrier’s highest-value plan is its “fast-growing plan,” Stankey said.
This is an optimistic sign for early iPhone 15 sales data. Apple is scheduled to report its fiscal Q4 2023 earnings on November 2, covering the months of July, August, and September. This will give an early look at the first days of iPhone 15 pre-orders and sales. While Apple does not report unit sales for any of its products, it reports a breakdown of revenue by product category.
In Q4 2022, Apple reported record revenue of $90.1 billion, despite missing analyst expectations for iPhone revenue at $42.63 billion. Still, iPhone revenue was up by 9.8% year-over-year.
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