Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported earnings for its March quarter Tuesday that fell in line with expectations, although revenue was down from the same period last year. However, Apple’s guidance for next quarter was higher than analysts expected, and it said it planned to spend $75 billion buying back its own shares.
Earnings per Share came in at $2.46 vs. $2.36 forecast by consensus estimates. Revenue totaled $58.02 billion, compared to the $57.37 billion forecast.
Q2 iPhone revenue was $31.05 billion vs. $31.10 billion expected forecast by consensus estimates. Q2 services revenue: $11.45 billion vs. $11.37 billion forecast by consensus estimates
Projected Q3 revenue is $52.5 to $54.5 billion vs. $51.94 billion forecast by consensus estimates
Apple’s total sales were down 5% from the same period last year, although it doesn’t seem to matter to investors as the stock is up.
Guidance for Apple’s fiscal third quarter was higher than expected, suggesting Apple’s iPhone demand machine is stabilizing again and that services revenue continues to grow. In January, Apple cut its first-quarter forecast, blaming slow iPhone sales in China.
iPhone revenue was also down 17.33% year-over-year. iPhone revenue accounted for 53.5% of Apple’s revenue for the quarter, which is lower than it has historically been.
CEO Tim Cook has told the media that Apple’s performance in China had improved over the previous quarter and saw greater strength towards the end of the quarter. Cook also said that a sales tax cut had helped decrease the price of Apple products, which had helped. Cook said that the trade relationship between the U.S. and China had improved as well.
AAPL shares soared $10.24, or 5.1%, to $210.91
