One bad quarter can’t define a company like Apple: Gartner analyst

Sell more than 51 million phones, make almost $50.6 billion in revenue in a quarter, even rack up $10.5 billion profit, but it’s just not enough when you’re Apple. The company reported its first drop in quarterly revenue in 13 years and its first ever year-on-year decline in iPhone sales. While Apple seems to be going through a tough time, most corporate honchos would still like to be in CEO Tim Cook’s shoes - the company still manages to make more than Microsoft and Google combined. Speaking to Tech2, Vishal Tripathi, Research Director at global advisory firm Gartner shares the same sentiment. “One quarter is not the reflection of the entire company. Apple is a big brand with big profits and a brand that consumers value. One bad quarter cannot take away from that.” Having said that, he believes every tech company goes through the cycle where at some point they have to innovate. While Apple has a great track record of innovation - one that not many companies can boast of - it still needs to diversify, he adds. Apple also sells iPads, Mac computers and other gadgets, but nearly two-thirds of its $50.6 billion in quarterly revenue came from iPhones. “They changed the game with iPod and the iPhone and were expecting to do the same with its smart watch. But that didn’t really go well,” says Tripathi. He says that the Mac also doesn’t see the attention it needs. It suffers due to a lack of regular upgrades. Apple’s revenue for the quarter included $6 billion from online services, apps and other software, which is up 20 percent from a year earlier - another sign that there is potential beyond iPhones. Speaking further on the diversifying, we ask Tripathi if gaining a foothold in the enterprise can add to business bottom lines for Apple. “Enterprise is a very different space. While they have tied up with IBM and Cisco for various services, there’s still a long way to go.” With inputs from AP