Consumer electronics giant Apple (AAPL) late Thursday beat Wall Street’s targets for its fiscal first quarter, thanks to iPhone 15 handset sales and services growth. But Apple stock fell in extended trading as sales declined in China.
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The Cupertino, Calif.-based company earned $2.18 a share on sales of $119.6 billion in the quarter ended Dec. 30. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected Apple earnings of $2.10 a share on sales of $118 billion. On a year-over-year basis, Apple earnings increased 16% while sales rose 2%.
With its Q1 report, Apple returned to revenue growth after four quarters in a row of declining sales on a year-over-year basis.
China was the only region where sales didn’t grow for Apple. In the December quarter, Apple’s sales in China fell 12.9% year over year to $20.8 billion. Domestic smartphone vendors, such as Huawei, have been drawing away customers from Apple in China.
Apple Stock Retreats After Report
In after-hours trading on the stock market today, Apple stock dropped more than 3% to 180.50. During the regular session Thursday, Apple stock climbed 1.3% to close at 186.86.
“Today Apple is reporting revenue growth for the December quarter fueled by iPhone sales, and an all-time revenue record in Services,” Chief Executive Tim Cook said in a news release.
He added, “We are pleased to announce that our installed base of active devices has now surpassed 2.2 billion, reaching an all-time high across all products and geographic segments.”
In the December quarter, Apple’s hardware sales rose a fraction year over year to $96.5 billion while services revenue climbed 11% to $23.1 billion.
Apple’s iPhone revenue increased 6% to $69.7 billion and accounted for 58% of the company’s total sales in fiscal Q1.
Meanwhile, Apple’s Mac computer sales rose a fraction to nearly $7.8 billion. However, iPad tablet sales plummeted 25% year over year to $7 billion.
Finally, revenue from Apple’s wearables, home and accessories unit declined 11% to about $12 billion.
AAPL Stock Has Formed A Base
On Friday, Apple will officially begin sales of its Apple Vision Pro spatial computer. The headset is the company’s first major product launch since the Apple Watch debuted almost nine years ago.
Apple stock has formed a cup-with-handle base with a buy point of 196.38, according to IBD MarketSmith charts. AAPL stock hit an all-time high 199.62 on Dec. 14.
Follow Patrick Seitz on X, formerly Twitter, at @IBD_PSeitz for more stories on consumer technology, software and semiconductor stocks.
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Jessica Roberts is a seasoned business writer who deciphers the intricacies of the corporate world. With a focus on finance and entrepreneurship, she provides readers with valuable insights into market trends, startup innovations, and economic developments.
