Apple’s iPad is having a moment.
The company beat both Wall Street’s earnings and revenue expectations. In its Q3 earnings report released on Thursday, Apple reported total quarterly revenue of $85.8 billion, up 5{37471d21a8c4ca072ce05e5c1dfbdaec01ff2ef8391827b0199be0aecce32fae} from the same quarter last year. Profits were up 8{37471d21a8c4ca072ce05e5c1dfbdaec01ff2ef8391827b0199be0aecce32fae} year over year at $21.45 billion.
While revenue from services saw a year-over-year increase, revenue from products like the iPhone and its wearables was largely flat — with the exception of the iPad.
The iPad performed better than some analysts expected, generating $7.2 billion in revenue, up 24{37471d21a8c4ca072ce05e5c1dfbdaec01ff2ef8391827b0199be0aecce32fae} year over year.
The iPhone 16 series is expected to launch in the fall, so consumers could be waiting for the latest product.
But, Apple launched new iPads in May, with CEO Time Cook at the time calling it “the biggest day for iPad since its introduction.”
The new lineup included the iPad Air in two sizes — an 11-inch display or 13-inch display — and an iPad Pro with an OLED screen and an M4 chip that the company described as an “outrageously powerful chip for AI.”
Still, analysts weren’t sure it’d be enough to generate excitement about the product.
Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, told Business Insider’s Jordan Hart in May that the iPad lineup “has been in a funk for three years.”
“This has been a long, slow, downward trend for the iPad,” he added.
In the company’s last earnings report in May, iPad revenue was down 17{37471d21a8c4ca072ce05e5c1dfbdaec01ff2ef8391827b0199be0aecce32fae} year over year, falling short of analyst expectations.
But leadership at Apple remained optimistic. After the launch of the new lineup, CFO Luca Maestri said the company expected the iPad to see double-digit growth in the new quarter.
Looks like he was right.
“Customers are loving the latest iPad lineup for its new design and display, unparalleled performance, AI capability, and much more,” Maestri said on the earnings call Thursday, adding that the increase in revenue was driven by the new iPad lineup.
