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Apple Sees Biggest Rally of the Year After Sales Top Estimates

Apple announced $90 billion in stock repurchases!

Apple Inc. rallied Friday after reporting a rebound in iPhone sales last quarter, helping the world’s most valuable company top earnings estimates and weather an industrywide downturn that has battered much of its product lineup.

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Bloomberg Apple revenue Q2

The shares jumped as much as 5.1% to $174.20, the biggest intraday gain since Nov. 30. They’re now up 34% in 2023.

Apple said Thursday’s overall revenue amounted to $94.8 billion in the fiscal second quarter, exceeding the $92.6 billion analysts predicted. Though the sales fell 2.5% in the period, the company had warned investors to expect a drop of roughly twice that.

The results suggest that Apple is beginning to recover from a slump that’s plagued both the computer and smartphone industries. It’s a relief for investors after Qualcomm Inc., a key supplier, raised concerns about phone demand earlier this week. Apple’s sales in China — a weak spot for other tech companies — also came in a bit better than expected.

As expected, Apple announced plans for $90 billion in stock repurchases, the same as last year’s plan. The company also raised its quarterly dividend 4% to 24 cents a share.

Though the performance was better than expected, it marked two straight quarters of sales declines — a first for Apple since the pandemic began. Earnings, meanwhile, were unchanged from a year earlier, at $1.52 a share.

That compared with an average estimate of $1.43 a share.

Apple generated $51.3 billion in sales from the iPhone — its flagship product — in the second quarter, topping analyst predictions of $49 billion.

 

@thejournalbiz
Source: Bloomberg/Apple
Image: Apple