Apple's Earnings Report Today to Reveal COVID-19's Impact on iPhone Sales

Apple will report its financial results for the second quarter of its 2020 fiscal year at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time today, providing a first look at how the company's sales have been affected by the global health crisis.

iphone trade in store
On February 17, Apple announced that it no longer expected to meet its March quarter revenue guidance due to COVID-19's impact on the iPhone supply chain and demand for its products in China. The virus has since become a global pandemic, with all Apple Stores outside of China and Korea remaining closed.

Apple's letter to shareholders at the time:

Our quarterly guidance issued on January 28, 2020 reflected the best information available at the time as well as our best estimates about the pace of return to work following the end of the extended Chinese New Year holiday on February 10. Work is starting to resume around the country, but we are experiencing a slower return to normal conditions than we had anticipated. As a result, we do not expect to meet the revenue guidance we provided for the March quarter…

Apple had forecasted revenue between $63 billion and $67 billion for the quarter, which ran December 29 through March 28. On average, analysts now expect that figure to be approximately $54.5 billion, down six percent from $58 billion in the year-ago quarter.

The second quarter encompassed the launch of new iPad Pro and MacBook Air models, which became available to order on March 18.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri will review the financial results on a conference call at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream on Apple's website. MacRumors will be providing detailed coverage of the remarks.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
apple tv hd

Apple Launched Its Big New Vision for TV 10 Years Ago Today

Thursday October 30, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device. The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...

Top Rated Comments

Dwalls90 Avatar
72 months ago
Given the context of the global health pandemic, a 6% reduction from the prior year doesn't seem too bad.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Blackstick Avatar
72 months ago
Best move was to release the SE at that price point. There's massive economical uncertainty... I'm feeling fairly job secure, but we're ~7 weeks into this... it's hard to say how I'd feel if this goes on another 7 months.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Dee Avatar
72 months ago

So glad we have your expert advice on what the economy will look like in the coming months. I have an existing device and I plan on upgrading. An iPhone isn’t a want it’s a need for most people and you’ll see a large portion of people purchasing the 12 when it’s launched. Per orders will be sold out in hours.
So glad we have your expert advice since you know what everybody wants and needs.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
H.E. Pennypacker Avatar
72 months ago

Right now, it’s about the long term if you are invested Apple. If you are in it for the short term, expect your stomach to churn. The next quarters and coming year are gonna be rough. Even when we are in full recovery, the PTSD that comes out of this, people are gonna hang on to their money tighter due to fear of this happening again. Certainly those with existing devices will be keeping them a lot longer.

My plan all along was to start upgrading to newer Apple devices in 2023.
So glad we have your expert advice on what the economy will look like in the coming months. I have an existing device and I plan on upgrading. An iPhone isn’t a want it’s a need for most people and you’ll see a large portion of people purchasing the 12 when it’s launched. Per orders will be sold out in hours.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kierkegaarden Avatar
72 months ago
I’m no analyst, but I’m guessing 15-20% down. I would imagine future quarters will be rocky as well.

Whatever the case, I’m not worried — Apple is a solid company and they seem to be responding well to the crisis. Their r&d budget sounds like it will remain robust, so this may push them ahead of competition in future years.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr. Dee Avatar
72 months ago
Right now, it’s about the long term if you are invested Apple. If you are in it for the short term, expect your stomach to churn. The next quarters and coming year are gonna be rough. Even when we are in full recovery, the PTSD that comes out of this, people are gonna hang on to their money tighter due to fear of this happening again. Certainly those with existing devices will be keeping them a lot longer.

My plan all along was to start upgrading to newer Apple devices in 2023.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)