Fitness Drives Apple to Record Quarter

The largest public company in the world has kept up its momentum despite uncertainty in the tech industry and a large investment in sports. 

Apple reported record fourth-quarter revenue of $90.1 billion — an 8% increase year-over-year — for the period ending Sept. 24. The tech giant’s wearables segment, which includes its fitness watches, posted $9.6 billion in revenue compared to Wall Street estimates of $8.8 billion. 

The California-based company — whose market cap is $2.32 trillion — continued to build its sports offerings and workforce in Q4.  

• Apple TV+ aired MLB games via its “Friday Night Baseball” package this season.
• In August, Apple had 60 jobs with the word “sports” in the title or description. 

In June, Apple agreed to a landmark deal worth at least $2.5 billion with MLS, which will see Apple exclusively stream every match for 10 years starting in 2023. 

As part of the deal, Apple will also stream League Cup matches, select MLS Next Pro and MLS Next matches, and a weekly live-match whiparound show. 

Boost from The Big Game

In September, Apple Music secured a multiyear deal to sponsor the NFL’s new Super Bowl halftime show for an undisclosed amount. 

NBC’s broadcast of the Super Bowl LVI halftime show drew 120 million viewers. 

Apple replaced Pepsi, which had held rights to the halftime show for the last 10 Super Bowls.

The company has also expressed interest in acquiring a minority stake in NFL Media, which includes NFL RedZone, NFL Network, and NFL.com.