Apple: September Likely Marked the Slowest App Store Growth on Record

By Senad Karaahmetovic

Morgan Stanley analysts analyzed the performance of Apple’s App Store, where net revenues likely decelerated 5% year-over-year in September.

For August, App Store revenue growth fell 1% YoY. The analysts noted that net revenue growth fell across all of the top App Store’s 10 largest markets.

“This marks the slowest App Store growth as far back as we have the data (going back to 2015,” they wrote in a client note.

For China, one of Apple’s key markets, net revenue declined 9% YoY, largely driven by gaming (-18% YoY). On the other hand, the U.S. recorded +5% growth.

“By category, Gaming net revenue was the primary culprit of the App Store deceleration – as revenue declined 14% Y/Y in the month of September vs. -9% Y/Y in August – with all other App Store categories cumulatively growing 8% Y/Y in September, only a 2 point deceleration from August,” the analysts added.

As far as downloads are concerned, the growth in this aspect accelerated 2 points to 5% Y/Y.

For Apple’s key rival Google (NASDAQ:), Morgan Stanley estimates that net revenue for the Google Play Store declined 9% YoY in September.

Apple (NASDAQ:) shares are up 0.1% in pre-open Monday.