Why Apple’s Earnings Beat Is So Impressive

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) released its most recent quarterly results after markets closed Tuesday. The iPhone giant said that it had $4.99 in earnings per share (EPS) and $91.8 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates that called for $4.55 in EPS and $88.5 billion in revenue. The first fiscal quarter from last year had $4.18 in EPS and $84.3 billion in revenue.

Apple’s board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.77 per share of common stock. The dividend is payable on February 13, 2020 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on February 10.

For the quarter, the firm reported its product sales as follows:

• iPhone pulled in revenues of $55.96 billion, an increase of 7.6% year over year.
• Mac revenues decreased by 3.5% to $7.16 billion.
• iPad revenues decreased 11.2% to $5.98 billion.
• Services revenues increased by 16.9% to $12.72 billion.
• Other Products revenues increased by 37.0% to $10.01 billion.

Regarding guidance for the fiscal second quarter, the company expects to see revenues in the range of $63 billion to $67 billion and a gross margin of 38% to 39%. The consensus estimates call for $2.82 in EPS on $62.45 billion in revenue for the coming quarter.

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Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, commented:

We are thrilled to report Apple’s highest quarterly revenue ever, fueled by strong demand for our iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro models, and all-time records for Services and Wearables. During the holiday quarter our active installed base of devices grew in each of our geographic segments and has now reached over 1.5 billion. We see this as a powerful testament to the satisfaction, engagement and loyalty of our customers — and a great driver of our growth across the board.

Shares of Apple closed Tuesday at $317.69, with a 52-week range of $154.11 to $323.33. The consensus analyst price target is $295.00. Following the announcement, the stock was up 2.5% at $326.04 in the after-hours session.

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