Cybart: Not So Fast on AirPods Revenue

Neil Cybart on Kevin Rooke’s estimates on AirPods revenue (linked here at DF last night):

A few hours ago, this tweet came to my attention. It’s about AirPods revenue and it’s not correct. AirPods revenue does not exceed Spotify, Twitter, Snapchat, and Shopify revenue. It’s not even close either. […]

By the way, the article in question put AirPods revenue at $12 billion in 2019. The actual number will end up being more like half that — closer to $7.5 billion.

I’d put my money on Cybart’s numbers over Rooke’s, but even if Rooke’s numbers are too high, at $7.5 billion his point still stands: AirPods as a standalone startup would be a fantastic business, growing at an extraordinary pace, with a very high ceiling. Note too that AirPods Pro were sold out until late January by the beginning of December. Could have been a much bigger holiday quarter if Apple could have made them fast enough to keep up with demand.

★ Wednesday, 8 January 2020