According to earlier reports, Apple had roughly 50 percent of all device activations over the holidays. Now a press release from Apple reports a massive $20 billion in App-Store earnings in 2015, with just over $1 billion coming in the two weeks ending January 3:
In the two weeks ending January 3, customers spent over $1.1 billion on apps and in-app purchases, setting back-to-back weekly records for traffic and purchases. January 1, 2016 marked the biggest day in App Store history with customers spending over $144 million. It broke the previous single-day record set just a week earlier on Christmas Day.
In the release, the company also highlighted revenue generated for developers. Apple says that since 2008 it has earned developers “nearly $40 billion.” Roughly a third of that came in 2015, according to the company.
Apple added that the App Store and app ecosystem have helped to create 4.5 million jobs globally, with nearly two million of those in the US. Those figures are attributed to a report called “App Economy Jobs in the United States” by Dr. Michael Mandel, Progressive Policy Institute. The report and methodology behind it appear to be independent.
The Wall Street Journal estimated that App Store growth from 2015 was about 43 percent, slightly below last year’s 50 percent. This suggests that growth is slowing as the market matures.
Despite Apple’s consistent financial performance investors have sold Apple shares recently on fears that demand for the iPhone is soft. Nikkei reported that Apple was cutting orders to component supplies amid weaker demand for the iPhone 6s.
Apple is scheduled to report holiday quarter earnings on January 26.
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