Apple share price hits US stock market after Q4 earnings

Apple Q4 results show that Apple is starting to recover from the slump that has plagued both the computer and smartphone industries. That was a particular relief for investors after major supplier Qualcomm Inc raised fresh concerns about demand for the phones earlier this week. Apple’s sales in China – a weak spot for other tech companies – also fared slightly better than expected.

As expected, Apple announced plans for $90 billion in stock repurchases – similar to last year’s plan. The company also raised its quarterly dividend by 4% to 24 cents per share.

Shares rose 4.7% to $173.57, the biggest single-day increase since Nov. 30. This added $107 billion to Apple’s market value and brought its year-over-year gain to 34%.

Total revenue for the fiscal second quarter was $94.8 billion, beating analysts’ estimates of $92.6 billion. Although sales declined 2.5% during the period, the company warned investors to expect a double decline.

Although the performance was better than expected, it marked two straight quarters of declining sales — a first for Apple since the pandemic began. Earnings, meanwhile, were unchanged from a year ago at $1.52 per share. This compared to an average estimate of $1.43 per share.

On a conference call with analysts, Apple said revenue in the current period would decline by the same amount as the previous quarter, which ended April 1. This suggests a decline of about 3%. The company also said that it will continue to see negative effects foreign currency Rates.

The prospect of Apple’s third straight sales decline raises questions about its growth prospects.

“I think growth should be on the minds of Apple investors today,” Scott Kessler, an analyst at Third Bridge, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. revenue in the near future or at any time in the future.”

Apple generated $51.3 billion in sales from the iPhone — its flagship product — in the second quarter, topping analyst forecasts of $49 billion. Chief executive Tim Cook said it was an increase of just 1.5% from a year ago, but a record performance for the March quarter. Growth came “despite challenges” macroeconomic environment,” he said in the statement.

Like many tech CEOs who report earnings, Cook discussed artificial intelligence. He said it has great potential and that Apple will continue to weave it into products in a “very thoughtful” way.

From a supply perspective, Q2 was a comeback opportunity for the iPhone 14. The device faced hurdles during the previous period due to the COVID policies in China.

The iPad saw a 13% decline in revenue to $6.67 billion, which was roughly in line with estimates of $6.7 billion. New models, which included a new entry-level version and Pro models with M2 chips, didn’t do much to boost purchases in the quarter.

Similarly, revenue in the Mac division fell 31% to $7.17 billion. He scaled back the $7.7 billion forecast. Research firms had already warned that it was a bleak quarter for the lineup, with IDC estimating that Mac shipments fell nearly 40% in the quarter. Apple had updated the MacBook Pro and Mac mini, which added faster processors, but they failed to reignite unit sales.

The home, wearables and accessories division — which includes AirPods, Apple Watch and TV set-top boxes — declined less than 1% to $8.76 billion. It beat estimates of $8.5 billion. The company added a faster processor to Apple TV during the holiday quarter and updated its HomePod speakers during the March quarter.

The services business, which includes iCloud, Apple Music, the App Store and TV streaming service, brought in $20.91 billion, missing estimates of $21.1 billion. Still, it was a 5.5% gain from a year ago. Last quarter, Apple promised that services revenue would accelerate alongside the iPhone.

The company performed particularly well in emerging markets, Cook said, pointing to record quarterly sales in Mexico, Indonesia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. He also spoke of developments in India, where Apple recently opened its first retail outlet.

Cook said that if you had held currencies constant, the company’s total sales would have gone up last quarter. For Apple and other US companies with a global footprint, a strong dollar reduces the value of revenue generated in other parts of the world.

“Despite these challenges, we continue to manage for the long term,” Cook said.