Apple shares made gains after the company released its March quarter results, which weren't as dire as the market had feared.
It seems the iPhone maker is moving quickly to restore fractured confidence following a series of setbacks that have caused shares to drop by 7% this year, while other major tech companies, like Meta, are reaching record highs.
The company disclosed its fiscal second-quarter earnings on Thursday after the market closed, and Wall Street reacted positively, with Apple stock price rising 6% in after-hours trading.
The iPhone maker reported revenue indicating another quarter of slowing growth, although not as sluggish as analysts had predicted. It recorded a 4% revenue decrease to $90.75 billion compared to the previous year, slightly surpassing the consensus estimate of $90.3 billion. Earnings per share also exceeded expectations at $1.53, beating the estimated $1.50.
iPhone sales, the company's main revenue driver, totaled $46 billion, a 10% decrease from the $51.3 billion in the same quarter last year. This was encouraging news for investors who had anticipated a worse outcome due to Apple's challenges in China, domestic headwinds, and declining share prices.
Mac sales unexpectedly increased by 4% to $7.5 billion, while iPad revenue fell by 16.7% to $5.6 billion, below the estimated $6.9 billion. Sales of wearables, home, and accessories, including the new Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset, amounted to $7.9 billion, a 9.6% decrease.
In an effort to bolster investor confidence, Apple also announced a massive $110 billion share buyback, its largest ever, and increased its quarterly dividend by 4% to 25 cents from 24 cents.
However, Apple has been relatively quiet about its artificial intelligence product plans, an area where competitors like Microsoft and Alphabet's Google are heavily investing. The company began ramping up research and development spending last year, with CEO Tim Cook stating that over $100 billion has been invested in R&D over the past five years.
Looking ahead to the coming weeks, markets anticipate Apple making significant announcements regarding the integration of generative AI across its ecosystem, which analysts believe could spur a significant upgrade cycle in product categories such as the iPhone.
