Apple reports first-quarter earnings after the bell
Apple CEO Tim Cook greets former President Barack Obama at the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson | Getty Images
Apple reports December-quarter earnings Thursday after the bell.
The December quarter is Apple’s largest of the year, partially due to the holiday shopping season and also because it is the first full quarter of new iPhone sales.
While analysts are not worried about the company’s performance in the December quarter, many of them will look for what Apple signals about how its March quarter is shaking out.
Supply chain data points suggest Apple’s sales in China are weakening, and Apple Intelligence, the company’s suite of artificial intelligence features, is not available in Chinese yet.
“Specifically, iPhone 16 demand is not amplified by the introduction of iOS 18 and its Gen AI features. In fact, paradoxically, somehow demand is actually softer,” wrote Loop Capital analyst Ananda Baruah in a note earlier this month, downgrading Apple to hold. “We’re again looking for iPhone units to decline for the fourth consecutive year.”
Apple does not publish its unit sales, and does not give traditional guidance. New Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh, who assumed the role earlier this month, will likely give investors a few data points on Thursday’s call that analysts can use to estimate earnings per share and revenue for Apple’s March-quarter performance.
LSEG estimates Apple’s revenue will grow on an annual basis at about 3.8% to $124.13 billion. Apple said in October that it expected “low- to mid-single digit” sales growth during the quarter.
One of the biggest things analysts will be watching for is if Apple’s mainland China sales suggest that consumers in the country are shifting their preferences to locally made and designed devices.
“We believe that a major driver of growing competition within the smartphone market is due to growing preference for domestic brands within China,” wrote Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Ng in a Jan. 23 note.
One bright spot for Apple could be its services business, which includes products ranging from device warranties to the Apple TV+ streaming service. Barclays analysts said in a note earlier this month that services could grow as much as 14% on an annual basis, which could offset lower iPhone sales.
Apple is expected to be questioned over its plan for Trump’s proposed tariffs and its overall AI strategy.
Here is what to expect from Apple in the December quarter, per LSEG consensus estimates:
- Earnings per share: $2.35
- Revenue: $124.13 billion
Analysts are expecting guidance for the March quarter of $1.66 in earnings per share on $95.46 billion in revenue.
WATCH: Apple’s superficial problem is there’s not enough demand, says Jim Cramer
Cheng Xin | Getty Images
Applied Digital shares jumped 16% on Friday after the company posted strong first-quarter revenue that was boosted by artificial intelligence data center demand, putting the stock up more than 350% for the year.
Here’s how the company did compared to LSEG estimates:
- Loss per share: Loss of 7 cents vs. a loss of 13 cents expected
- Revenue: $64.2 million vs. $50 million expected
First quarter revenue of $64.2 million was up 84% from a year ago, when it reported $34.85 million in revenue.
The data center company reported earnings after the bell on Thursday.
During the quarter, Applied Digital built on its $7 billion lease agreement with CoreWeave that was announced in June for another 150 megawatts at the firm’s Polaris Forge 1 campus in North Dakota. The additional capacity brings the anticipated contracted lease revenue for the project up to $11 billion.
“With hyperscalers expected to invest approximately $350 billion into AI deployment this year, we believe we are in a prime position to serve as the modern-day picks and shovels of the intelligence era,” CEO Wes Cummins said in a release.
The new 150 MW building will join two other data cell blocks, each hosting 100 MW and 150 MW. The company noted that one building is nearly complete and construction will begin on the other.
Applied Digital also secured funding from Macquarie Equipment Capital for a second campus in North Dakota, dubbed Polaris Forge 2. The estimated $3 billion factory will hold two 150 MW buildings, bringing the total leased capacity to 600 MW across both campuses.
An initial 200 MW of power is expected to come online in 2026 and reach full capacity in 2027, the company said.
The company had a net loss of $18.5 million in the first quarter, a loss of 7 cents per share. A year ago, the company posted a net loss of $4.29 million, a loss of 3 cents per share.
Analysts polled by LSEG expect a loss of 15 cents per share for the second quarter on revenue of $76 million.
Applied Digital 5-year stock chart.
Cheng Xin | Getty Images
Rocket Lab shares have added more than a quarter in value this week as the aerospace company inked new launch deals in the burgeoning space tech industry.
The stock was flat on Friday, but has surged over 20% this week. Shares were up nearly 50% over the last two weeks and traded near fresh highs on Friday.
The stock has nearly tripled since the start of the year.
On Friday, the company said it secured two launches with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, scheduled for December and in 2026.
Earlier in the week, Rocket Lab announced a multi-launch agreement with Japanese space start Q-shu Pioneers of Space. That’s on top of four contracted missions.
Late last month, the company also secured 10 additional launch missions for Synspective, bringing its total with the Japanese satellite company to 21. The first is scheduled for later this month.
Rocket Lab’s extreme stock movement could also be a result of some short covering, which occurs when short sellers buy a security to close a position and mitigate losses. Short interest accounted for nearly 14% of Rocket Lab’s float at the end of September.
Investors have poured more money into the space sector this year as the government greenlights more contracts and funding.
The space sector, currently dominated by billionaire-backed ventures like Elon Musk‘s SpaceX, has also seen a wave of initial public offerings this year from the likes of Firefly Aerospace, Voyager Technologies and Karman Holdings.
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