Apple expected to open lower after results marginally beat expectations
Apple shares are expected to open down 6% on Wednesday, after the tech giant posted quarterly earnings and revenue just above expectations late on Tuesday.
Apple Inc.
$173.62
10:50 29/04/24
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04:30 15/10/20
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10:50 29/04/24
The iPhone maker reported third quarter earnings of $1.85 per share, marginally ahead of the $1.81 analysts expected, while revenue amounted to $49.6bn compared with forecast calling for $49.4bn.
Shipments for iPhone, the group’s biggest product by sales and revenue, came in at 47.5m, marginally above analysts’ expectations calling for a 47.2m figure but down from the 61.2m unit Apple shipped in the previous quarter.
However, the group’s chief executive, Tim Cook, insisted the company was “proud” of its results, given the “challenging” environment due to strong currency headwinds, adding that the company was growing rapidly in China, where revenue more than doubled to $13.2bn.
"We remain extremely bullish on China and we're continuing to invest," he said.
"Nothing that's happened has changed our fundamental view that China will be Apple's largest market at some point in the future."
Cook also described the iPhone 6 as a “runaway success”, indicating the phone was growing at three times the pace of its rivals.
"We sold more units than we thought we would," he said.
"We did exceptionally well in any way that you look at it."
Meanwhile, the company’s reiterated fourth quarter revenue guidance, saying it expects it to be between $49bn and $51bn, in line with analysts’ expectations for a $50.8bn figure.
“The reason Apple shares fell so much may reflect the surprise at no singled-out data on the Apple Watch,” said CMC Markets’ analyst Jasper Lawler.
“The market interpretation is that the watch sales must be disappointing and that’s why they were listed alongside other peripheral Apple products and services.”