Apple rises on earnings, revenue beat despite iPhone, China concerns
Apple shares rose slightly in after-hours trading on Tuesday after the embattled iPhone maker matched expectations for first-quarter earnings and revenue, but fell short on iPhone sales.
The Cupertino, California-based company reported earnings per share of $4.18, roughly in line with the $4.17 expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv and a 7.5 percent increase compared to one year ago. Quarterly revenue fell 5 percent to $84.3 billion, slightly above an expected $83.97 billion.
Earlier this month, the company warned that its holiday sales would be lower than previously expected due to “economic deceleration” in emerging markets and weak demand for iPhones in China, among other factors. These headwinds and speculation among investors about the health of its iPhone business has kept a lid on the share price this month.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 229.87 | +1.35 | +0.59% |
“While it was disappointing to miss our revenue guidance, we manage Apple for the long term, and this quarter’s results demonstrate that the underlying strength of our business runs deep and wide,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement in early January. “Our active installed base of devices reached an all-time high of 1.4 billion in the first quarter, growing in each of our geographic segments. That’s a great testament to the satisfaction and loyalty of our customers, and it’s driving our Services business to new records thanks to our large and fast-growing ecosystem.”
Apple reported iPhone revenue of $51.98 billion, which fell below Wall Street’s expectations and marked a 15 percent decline year-over-year. Cook attributed the shortfall to economic pressures in China and a slowdown in how often Apple customers are choosing to trade in their old iPhones for newer models.
The company's Services segment, which includes Apple Music and iCloud, posted revenue of $10.9 billion. Quarterly revenue in Greater China was $13.1 billion, down from nearly $18 billion one year ago.
The tech giant provided second-quarter revenue guidance of between $55 billion and $59 billion, down from more than $61 billion one year ago.
The company said last November that it would stop disclosing unit sales data for iPhones and other hardware, arguing that unit sales were no longer the best available of its success given the rise of its services arm and other new initiatives.
“We can’t change macroeconomic conditions, but we are undertaking and accelerating other initiatives to improve our results,” Cook said at the time.
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The tech giant’s decision to stop publishing unit sales figures – long considered a key metric for its business – has also drawn close scrutiny from analysts.