Due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Apple decided to stop selling its products and services in Russia, which will also cause its revenue in the region to suffer. Phone case maker Burga analyzed available data such as Apple’s Russian market share and the company’s sales revenue through 2021 and calculated that Apple would be losing about $3 million a day by stopping iPhone sales in Russia alone.
This means a loss of about $1 billion a year. But compared to Apple’s 2021 revenue of $123.9 billion, these losses don’t seem to have an immediate impact. While Russia doesn’t account for a large share of Apple’s revenue from products and services, the tech giant’s exit is likely to take a toll on its growth in Russia. Smartphone sales and iPhone sales in Russia have been growing steadily over the past few years, growing by around 200% between 2014 and 2021.
According to data provided by Burga, based on supplier data, Apple’s iPhone accounts for 15% of smartphone sales in Russia, ranking third overall. South Korea’s Samsung Electronics topped the list with a 34 percent share, followed by Xiaomi with a 26 percent share. Realme has an 8% share, Poco is close behind at 3%, while other smaller brands have a combined share of 14%.
As of 2021, smartphone sales in Russia will be around $7.6 billion. Given that overall smartphone sales in Russia have consistently risen steadily over the past few years, Apple’s revenue loss could be even higher. As of 2020, smartphone sales in Russia were $5.93 billion, compared to $5.2 billion in 2019.
In addition to the iPhone, Apple’s suspension of other products and services also took a toll. Among them, the services business already accounts for a large portion of Apple’s quarterly revenue and is now second only to iPhone revenue.
Third, the suspension of sales will have an impact on Apple’s relationship with Russia. “Apple’s suspension of sales in Russia has led to a more volatile relationship between the two entities,” Burga wrote on his blog. It’s worth noting that Apple has only recently started complying with Russian government orders to open an office in Russia and Online services are available there.”
After a rough calculation, other than the iPhone, Apple’s other products (such as Macs) and services lost no more than $1 million per day. But overall, it’s a small price to pay for Apple.