Apple posts ‘better than expected’ quarter driven by iPhone sales
Apple defied Wall Street estimates to post a ‘better-than-expected’ quarter driven by iPhone sales
Apple’s revenues fell for the second quarter in a row last night as the iPhone maker reported revenue of £75.4 billion for the three months to March – a 2.5 per cent drop from the same period last year.
It followed a 5 percent drop in the last three months of last year.
But it beat analysts’ £74bn forecast and shares rose nearly 2 per cent in after-hours trading.
The iPhone maker raked in revenues of £75.4bn in the three months to March – better than the £74bn analysts had predicted.
Profits came in at £19bn, slightly below estimates of £22bn as sales of Mac computers and iPads continue to drag the tech giant down.
iPhone maker Apple posted sales of £75.4 billion in the three months to March – better than the £74 billion analysts had predicted.
But iPhone sales, which accounted for 54 percent of total sales, rose 2 percent to £41 billion, above estimates of £39 billion.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said the quarter was “better than we expected” given the tough economic conditions.
Apple will spend £71bn on share buybacks over the next 12 months, which is what Wall Street expected.
The company made money during the pandemic as consumers outfitted their homes with appliances and invested in work-from-home technology.
But this started to fade last year as the dollar rose and lockdowns continued to cause problems in factories in China.
In the last quarter, total sales fell 5 percent lower than the previous year, the first year-over-year sales decline for Christmas since 2019.
Cook blamed the ordeal on the economic situation, which he says affected everyone, and predicted a similar pattern in 2023.
The latest Silicon Valley earnings have largely beat Wall Street’s forecasts. Last week, Amazon posted revenues of £102 billion for the first three months of the year, up 9 percent from 2022 and more than the £100 billion forecast by analysts. It made a profit of £2.6bn after a loss of £3bn in the same period of 2022.
Facebook owner Meta also posted better-than-expected first-quarter results, while founder Mark Zuckerberg is headed for a “year of efficiency.”
The tech-laden Nasdaq was lifted by the upbeat performance of both Microsoft and Google owner Alphabet, both of whom have pinned their hopes on AI investments.
But Amazon and Meta have cut thousands of jobs in recent months. In contrast, Apple has avoided major layoffs.