Bad forecasts for Apple / Apple's post-market decline / Apple's progress is lower than expectations / Apple's progress is higher than expectations

The issue is updated.

After the stock market closed, Apple announced its quarterly results. Revenues were expected to decline.

Analysts were expecting revenue of $90.01 billion and earnings of $1.50 per share.

Apple could report sales of $90.75 billion. Earnings per share closed at $1.53. The stock rose sharply in after-market trading

Meanwhile, total revenue fell 4%, and iPhone sales fell 10%, compared to a 19% decline in the first quarter.

Apple announced that its board of directors has approved a stock buyback worth $110 billion, an increase of 22 percent from last year's approval of $90 billion. The largest buyback in history. In addition to agreeing to the buyback, Apple announced it would pay a 25-cent dividend.

The tech giant did not provide any official guidance, but CEO Tim Cook told CNBC that total revenues will grow during the June quarter. Cook noted that year-over-year sales suffered from a tough comparison to the same period last year, when the company realized a $5 billion delay in iPhone 14 sales due to Covid-related supply issues.

Hope to return

Downward iPhone sales trends in China have created a muted mood around the stock. Apple was the second-worst performing stock in the Magnificent Seven group, with its shares rising just 2 percent over the 12-month period.

Cook tells CNBC the following.

– I feel confident about China, and I think that will be more in the long term than in the next week or so.

Before the numbers were released, there was hope that artificial intelligence would make a comeback. AI was highlighted as an important factor in Microsoft's takeover of Apple by market value earlier this year. Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June 2024 will likely contain important updates about the company's place in the AI ​​race.

Bad look

On Wednesday evening, Qorvo, a component supplier to Apple, announced that it expects its revenues for this quarter to range between $825 and $875 million. Meanwhile, analysts were expecting $924 million.

Apple is Qorvo's largest customer, accounting for about 46 percent of sales.

These disappointing trends come as a result of the challenges facing the iPhone market, especially in China, where competition is intense. According to Marketwatch, iPhone sales fell 19 percent in the first quarter, while rivals Xiaomi and Huawei saw growth.

The Qorvo update comes after bad news from chip supplier Skyworks. The company gets 66% of its revenues from Apple and stated that the quarter was marked by “below normal trends” in its mobile phone business.