Consumer electronics giant Apple (AAPL) has reported financial results that beat Wall Street’s expectations, although iPhone sales came up short.
The company announced earnings per share (EPS) of $1.85 U.S., which beat the $1.77 U.S. consensus expectation of analysts.
Revenue of $102.47 billion U.S. managed to squeak by forecasts of $102.24 billion U.S.
However, iPhone sales of $49.03 billion U.S. fell short of the $50.19 billion U.S. that was anticipated. The iPhone accounts for nearly half (50%) of Apple’s total revenue.
iPad sales of $6.95 billion U.S. were also below analysts’ consensus of $6.98 billion U.S.
Revenue from Apple’s services, which includes its streaming and payments platforms, amounted to $28.75 billion U.S., which narrowly beat estimates of $28.17 billion U.S.
Despite the uneven print, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in media interviews that Apple’s revenue in the current fourth quarter will increase by at least 10% as iPhone sales pick-up.
“We expect total company revenue to grow by 10% to 12% year-over-year, we expect iPhone revenue to grow double digits, year-over-year, and we expect that that would make the December quarter the best ever in the history of the company,” said Cook.
Current analyst consensus is for Apple to report $132.31 billion U.S. in sales and earnings of $2.53 U.S. per share for the year’s fourth quarter.
Cook added that Apple is seeing strong sales of its new iPhone 17 model, released in September, which he said was “off the chart.”
If there was a bright spot in the third quarter, it was Apple’s MacBook business, which grew 13% to $8.72 billion U.S. in sales.
Cook attributed the growth to strong sales of the latest MacBook Air laptop, which was refreshed in March along with a $100 U.S. price cut.
Apple’s sales in China, a key market, fell 4% on an annual basis to $14.50 billion U.S. during Q3. Cook said, “We expect China to return to growth this quarter.”
AAPL stock has risen 11% this year to trade at $271.40 U.S. per share.
