Apple’s Impressive Quarterly Earnings Propel Shares

Apple on Tuesday posted a better-than-expected $3.06 in earnings-per-share in its fiscal first quarter in part due to the popularity of the iPhone 6 during the Christmas season. Revenue of $74.6 billion, up 30 percent over the same quarter last year, also exceeded expectations.

Apple was expected to earn $2.59 per share on revenue of $67.7 billion. The new-media company sold a record 74.5 million iPhones during the quarter, led by sales of the iPhone 6 and 6 plus smartphones. Analysts were predicting that Apple would sell no more than about 70 million iPhones.

Net income in the quarter was $18 billion, up from $13.1 billion a year earlier.

Shares of Apple fell 4 percent on Tuesday to $109.13 but were up 7 percent after the closing bell as Wall Street reacted to the company’s financial results.

Apple said it also set a record for quarterly revenue associated with the iPhone as well as revenue for the Mac.

“We’d like to thank our customers for an incredible quarter, which saw demand for Apple products soar to an all-time high,” CEO Tim Cook said.

In its earnings release, Apple also touted a “record performance of the App Store.”

 

Email: Paul.Bond@THR.com