Apple Inc. (AAPL) released its latest earnings report after closing bell, posting earnings of $2.10 per share on $52.9 billion in revenue. Analysts had been expecting earnings of $2.02 per share on $53 billion in sales. In the year-ago quarter, the company reported $1.90 per share in earnings on $50.6 billion in sales. The iPhone maker had guided for $51.5 billion to $53.5 billion in revenue and implied earnings per share of around $1.97.
Apple (AAPL) misses on iPhone units
Apple Inc. (AAPL) sold 50.8 million iPhones during the March quarter, compared to the consensus of 52 million. In the year-ago quarter, the company shipped 51 million iPhones. It shipped iPads and Macs during the quarter, compared to the analyst estimates of 9 million iPads and 4 million Macs.
Services revenue rose to $7.04 billion from $6 billion last year and compares to the consensus at $7.06 billion. iPhone revenue rose to $33.2 billion, while iPad revenue fell to $3.9 billion. Mac revenue rose to $5.8 billion, and Other Products revenue rose to $2.9 billion.
Sales in the Americas rose to $21.2 billion from $19.1 billion in the year-ago quarter. Greater China sales continued their downward march, falling to $10.7 billion from $12.5 billion in last year’s March quarter. Revenue for the rest of the Asia Pacific region rose to $3.8 billion from $3.2 billion last year. International sales were 65% of the company’s total revenue.
Three of the four major mobile carriers in the U.S. have already reported their earnings, and one common theme among all their reports was ultra-low upgrade rates. AT&T and Verizon both recorded record low upgrade rates during the first quarter, while T-Mobile’s upgrade rate was flat with last year.
Apple (AAPL) adds to capital return program, provides guidance
The company also provided guidance for its third fiscal quarter. Apple Inc. (AAPL) expects sales to be between $43.5 billion and $45.5 billion and its gross margin to be between 37.5% and 38.5%.
Apple Inc. (AAPL) also added $35 billion to its capital return program, which analysts had widely been expecting. The iPhone maker had returned more than $200 billion of the $250 billion program it introduced in 2012, with $51 billion coming in dividends and the rest in share repurchases. Tonight’s increase is in line with what the company has done the last few springs. Apple Inc. (AAPL) intends to fund the increased capital return plans using domestic and international debt.
Apple Inc. (AAPL) stock fell by as much as 1.8% to $144.85 in after-hours trade following tonight’s earnings release. The company’s valuation also hit another milestone today, briefly surpassing the $775 billion mark.
