Apple opened its books this evening and was able to exceed expectations for the Christmas quarter.
Apple exceeded expectations with earnings of $4.18 per share. Analysts had predicted an average of $4.17. Apple generated $84.3 billion and posted a profit of $19.97 billion. Total sales of between $89 and $93 billion were originally expected for the first quarter. At the beginning of the year, Apple lowered its forecast to $84 billion. Analysts' original expectations were around $91 billion. Apple CEO Tim Cook justified the correction with poor iPhone sales in China, among other things. According to the statement, Apple had underestimated the economic slowdown. According to Cook, users in other markets have not switched to the new iPhone generation as expected either - of course the company is disappointed by this.
decline in sales in the second quarter
Apple has forecast sales of around 55-59 billion US dollars for the current quarter - last year it was 61 billion US dollars. Analysts had previously expected 59.3 billion US dollars. In after-hours trading, the share price rose by more than two percent.
sales figures under lock and key
As announced at the last conference call, Apple has not provided any concrete sales figures for individual products. Analysts and investors in particular have been very critical of this move. Many competitors, such as Samsung, have been taking this approach for some time. Apple justifies the measure by saying that concrete sales figures are not a good indicator of the success of Apple's business.
