Apple Inc announced record fiscal second-quarter revenue and profit on Thursday, above Wall Street expectations as the company dealt with processor shortages and consumers rushed to buy new iPhones.
In the Americas, sales increased by 19 percent, whereas in Europe and China, sales increased by single digits.
In after-hours trade, Apple shares surged around 3%.
The iPhone maker from Silicon Valley, which is the world’s most valuable corporation by market capitalization, is hoping to retain strong demand for the iPhone and other devices while increasing revenue from services including as music and video subscriptions.
It is making progress on both aims, according to the most recent results.
In a statement, Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri acknowledged “continuing robust demand for our products” as well as a new high for service sales.
According to Refinitiv statistics, Apple’s overall fiscal second-quarter revenue was $97.3 billion, up 8.6% from the previous year and higher than analysts’ average expectation of $93.89 billion.
Apple had warned that lower foreign currency rates and various product launch timings from previous quarters would stifle sales growth.
Global phone sales income for the quarter totaled $50.6 billion, up 5.5 percent from a year ago and ahead of the average estimate of $47.88 billion. After iPhones, Apple’s second-largest category, services, grew 17 percent to $19.8 billion, slightly topping the average forecast of $19.71 billion.
The company’s profit of $25 billion, or $1.52 per share, considerably beyond analysts’ projections of $23.2 billion and $1.43 per share.
Apple also announced a 5% dividend increase to $0.23 per share, as well as board approval to buy back another $90bn in shares.
As the situation in Ukraine and other factors drive up the cost of oil, food, and other basics, investors have been bracing for a reduction in consumer spending on computer products and services.
As COVID-19 outbreaks have gotten less fatal, some consumers have spent more money on travel and recreation outside of their homes, depleting home technology budgets.
Because people commute less, remote work has reduced the demand for expensive, high-end phones and upgrades.
Other businesses, though, have benefited from remote labour.
iPad sales decreased 2% to $7.65 billion, but were still more than experts’ average expectation of $7.14 billion.
Mac computer revenue increased 14.7 percent to $10.4 billion, beating analyst expectations of $9.25 billion.
Wearables, home speakers, and accessories sales increased by 12% to $8.8 billion, compared to $9.05 billion estimates.
However, new supply and demand constraints in China and Taiwan, where many parts and iPhones are made, could pose fresh challenges in the current quarter.
Antitrust investigations are underway in the United States, the Netherlands, South Korea, and South Africa, among other countries, to determine whether the company’s fees are excessive.
Apple announced that it now has 825 million paying customers across at least seven subscription services, up from 785 million in the previous quarter. Its expansion comes as competitors such as Netflix Inc report declining user numbers.
Apple may be affected by labor unrest for the first time. Last week, more than 70 percent of the more than 100 eligible workers at an Apple store in Atlanta endorsed a petition to unionize, making it the company’s first US business to do so.
Source: Reuters
