Apple quarterly figures: Sales shrink less than expected, stock market cheers
90.8 billion turnover, 1.53 US dollars profit per share: Apple's figures are better than expected, also in China. The company wants to buy back many shares.
Apple boss Tim Cook at a keynote: good mood at the beginning of the merry month.
(Bild: Apple)
Apple exceeded the stock market's expectations on Thursday evening, although business continued to shrink. In the current quarter, Apple wants to grow again - in the low single-digit range, as the company announced. Wall Street reacted positively to the financial figures for the first quarter: Apple's shares initially rose six percent in after-hours trading.
The iPhone is alive and well - even in China
In the quarter from January to March, Apple generated a total turnover of 90.8 billion US dollars. This is a decline of 4.3 percent compared to the first quarter of 2023. A decline was already expected by the stock market; it turned out to be less than predicted by analysts, who expected an average of 500 million dollars less revenue. Earnings per share amounted to 1.53 dollars, 1 US cent more than in the same quarter of the previous year. Operating profit amounted to 27.9 billion dollars and net profit to 23.6 billion dollars. This is two percent less than in the same period of the previous year. The operating cash flow ("cash generated by operating activities") amounted to 62.58 billion dollars.
In talks with analysts, CEO Tim Cook announced the launch of the largest share buyback program in Apple's history. A further 110 billion dollars will be invested in the purchase of own shares. At the same time, the dividend will be increased by 4 percent to 25 US cents per share. Business in China, which has been under pressure for some time, went better than expected. In "Greater China", i.e. mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, sales amounted to 16.4 billion dollars, which is 500 million dollars more than analysts had forecast. According to Apple CFO Luca Maestri, fears about business in the Middle Kingdom are "exaggerated". Apple is "happy with its results in China. The reality is different from what you sometimes read." Sales of the iPhone have even increased in China.
The iPhone remains the overall revenue driver. It achieved sales of 46 billion dollars, slightly more than analysts had predicted (45.8 billion dollars). In the same quarter of 2023, however, sales in this segment amounted to 51.3 billion dollars. Mac sales rose to 7.45 billion dollars, apparently driven by the MacBook Air M3. The iPad business shrank again, even missing analysts' downgraded forecast (5.91 billion dollars) at 5.56 billion dollars. New iPads are expected next week.
Wearables segment shrinks, services grow
The Wearables, Home and Accessories segment posted a turnover of 7.91 billion dollars, 10 percent less than in the same quarter last year. This is likely due to the fact that the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 were rather minor upgrades. Apple also had to shut down a sensor due to a patent dispute in the USA. The services business grew again – by 14 percent to 23.9 billion dollars, slightly more than analysts had predicted. However, Apple is also earning a lot of money from Google, which is currently involved in a US antitrust case.
It initially remained unclear how the Vision Pro would sell. This had gone on sale – albeit only in the USA – on February 2. According to Apple, "half of the Fortune 100 companies" have purchased the mixed reality headset and are now investigating how it can be used in business. According to Cook, the Vision Pro, which costs 3,500 dollars plus tax, is only scratching the surface at the moment. "We couldn't be more excited about this opportunity."
Tim Cook also commented on AI. Much is expected here from iOS 18, which is to be shown in June. Cook said that Apple has "advantages" in artificial intelligence that set the company apart from others and "very exciting things to show in the near future". The company is "bullish about our opportunities in the area of generative AI". Significant investments are being made in this area. He also emphasized Apple's closely interlinked ecosystem of hardware, software and services. The company is firmly committed to privacy protection.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmmung wird hier ein externer Preisvergleich (heise Preisvergleich) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (heise Preisvergleich) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
(bsc)
