By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com - Apple reported Wednesday better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates, led by surge in demand for its latest slate of earnings iPhones.
Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) was flat in after-hours trade following the report.
Apple announced earnings per share of $1.68 on revenue of $111.4B. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of $1.41 on revenue of $102.54B.
iPhone revenue, which makes up about half of total revenue, rose to $65.6 billion from $55.96 billion a year earlier, well above estimates of $59.86 billion. The higher-than-expected figure comes as the launch its iPhone 12 boosts its upgrade cycle.
Revenue from Apple’s service business including Apple News, Apple TV+ and iCloud, grew to $15.76 billion from $12.5 billion, beating estimates of $12.72 billion.
Wearables, home and accessories generated $12.97 billion in revenue, up from $10.01 billion, beating consensus of $11.91 billion.
The tech giant did not provide guidance.
"Our December quarter business performance was fueled by double-digit growth in each product category, which drove all-time revenue records in each of our geographic segments and an all-time high for our installed base of active devices," said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. "These results helped us generate record operating cash flow of $38.8 billion. We also returned over $30 billion to shareholders during the quarter as we maintain our target of reaching a net cash neutral position over time."
Investing.com's Analyst Haris Anwar Apple is a "great" stock as its services business continues to improve.
"Apple is in a great position to continue on its growth path, helped by the robust sales of its newer phone models and the improving performance of its services business. That combination has severely damaged any bear case against its stock that is based upon this idea that the iPhone super growth cycle is over. Strong demand for iPhone 12 clearly strengthens the argument that Apple’s global brand, an enviable cash position and its push to diversify its revenue stream make it a great stock to own for the long-term."