Apple services growth slows as gaming revenue dips and App Store rules change

Apple reported services revenue of $30.74 billion for the latest quarter, missing analysts' expectations of $31.22 billion and causing the stock to fall more than 4%. The shortfall was attributed mainly to a slowdown in mobile‑gaming revenue on the App Store. Although global game downloads have been declining, existing players continue to spend heavily on in‑app purchases, raising average spend per download but reducing the overall growth rate.

At the same time, a court‑ordered ruling requires Apple to allow developers to use their own payment systems, limiting the company’s ability to collect its standard commissions. Additional App Store policy changes have broadened support for streaming games and altered fee structures in several countries, including the United States. Despite these pressures, Apple still benefits from a large base of over five billion paid subscriptions across its services, and many service lines such as Apple Ads, Apple Music and Apple TV recorded record revenues for the quarter.