Why Not Even Coronavirus Can Stop Apple’s Rise. Despite closed stores and a dragging economy, all signs still point to a strong company.

I’ve been watching Apple for years. I can’t count the number of times someone has predicted its demise, only to see the company’s riches grow. Now, the coronavirus outbreak is prompting those predictions yet again. I’m not so sure even this moment can hurt the company longterm.

Last week, Goldman Sachs analyst Rod Hall changed his Apple stock rating to “sell” because he expects declining iPhone business amid the coronavirus crisis. Hall added that Apple‘s Services business, which includes Apple Music, iCloud, Apple TV+, and other businesses, will also decline.

The comments followed a Bloomberg report about Apple CEO Tim Cook’s all-hands meeting with staff. Although he expressed optimism, according to the report, he couldn’t quite guarantee that Apple wouldn’t need to lay off staff because of the outbreak.

Of course, using those data points — and realizing that most of Apple’s retail stores around the world are closed — it might be easy to draw the conclusion that times will be tough for the tech giant.

After all, with fewer people willing to buy iPhones, no stores open, and reports of shortages in its supply chain, Apple is definitely in for a bad 2020, right?

Well, that depends on how you look at it.

Will iPhone sales be down this quarter? Absolutely. And the same may be said for iPads, Macs, and other devices. But Services continue to be a powerful component in Apple’s business. And despite what Hall said, there’s no reason to believe Services will get hit that hard.

Apple TV+ might not be the most successful Apple launch we’ve seen, but Apple Music continues to grow and iCloud is a must-have for Apple device owners. Even if Apple doesn’t sell a single new device this year, there’s still a massive ammount of iPhones and iPads in use that need those Services. And that alone makes Apple’s Services business compelling.

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