Apple rose on Friday after an iPhone bounce helped quarterly earnings above estimates, despite the fact that overall sales at the world’s most valuable corporation continue to fall. The findings indicate that Apple is beginning to emerge from a downturn that has afflicted both the computer and smartphone markets.
Investors were especially relieved after Qualcomm, a key supplier, expressed new concerns about phone demand earlier this week. Apple’s sales in China, a key market for other tech companies, were also better than expected.
Apple disclosed stock repurchase plans at $US90 billion ($133 billion) – the same amount as last year. In addition, the corporation increased its quarterly dividend by 4% to 24 cents per share.
The stock gained 4.7% to $US173.57, the most in a single day since November 30. This increased Apple’s market worth by $US107 billion, bringing its year-to-date gain to 34%.
Overall revenue in the fiscal second quarter was $US94.8 billion, above the $US92.6 billion projected by analysts. Despite the fact that sales declined 2.5% over the period, the company had cautioned investors to expect a drop of about double that amount.
Though the performance was better than predicted, it represented Apple’s first two quarters of sales reductions since the epidemic began. Meanwhile, earnings per share were constant from the previous year, at $US1.52 per share. This compares to a consensus estimate of $US1.43 per share.
During a conference call with investors, Apple stated that revenue would fall by a similar amount in the current quarter as it did in the previous quarter, which ended April 1. This would imply a 3% decrease. Foreign exchange rates, according to the company, will continue to have a negative influence.
Apple’s flagship product, the iPhone, garnered $51.3 billion in sales in the second quarter, exceeding expert expectations of $49 billion. This represents a 1.5% increase over the previous year, but it is a record for a March quarter, according to CEO Tim Cook. According to the statement, the growth occurred “despite the challenging macroeconomic environment”.
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