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Apple reports 'better than expected' earnings driven by iPhone sales

Apple reported second-fiscal quarter earnings on Thursday that beat Wall Street’s soft expectations for sales and revenue, driven by stronger-than-anticipated iPhones sales. Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC that the quarter was “better than we expected.” 

However, Apple’s overall sales fell for the second quarter in a row.  Apple shares rose less than 1% in extended trading.

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Here’s how the company did versus Wall Street expectations per Refinitiv consensus expectations: 

  • EPS: $1.52 vs. $1.43 expected 
  • Revenue: $94.84 billion vs. $92.96 billion expected 
  • Gross margin: 44.3% vs. 44.1% expected 

Apple reported $24.16 billion in net income during the quarter versus $25.01 billion last year. Overall revenue was down 3% from last year’s $97.28 billion in sales.

Here’s how Apple’s individual product lines did versus StreetAccount consensus expectations: 

  • iPhone revenue: $51.33 billion vs. $48.84 billion expected 
  • Mac revenue: $7.17 billion vs. $7.80 billion expected 
  • iPad revenue: $6.67 billion vs. $6.69 billion expected 
  • Other Products revenue: $8.76 billion vs. $8.43 billion expected 
  • Services revenue: $20.91 billion vs. $20.97 billion expected 

Apple didn’t provide formal guidance, continuing its practice that dates back to 2020 and the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Management typically provides some data points on a call with analysts.

The highlight of Apple’s report was iPhone sales, which grew from the year-ago quarter even as the broader smartphone industry contracted nearly 15% during the same time, according to an IDC estimate.  

IPhone revenue grew 2% during the quarter, suggesting that parts shortages and supply chain issues that had hampered the product for the last few years, including an iPhone factory shutdown late last year, had finally abated.  

“It was quite a good quarter from an iPhone point of view, particularly relative to the market when you look at the market stats,” Cook told CNBC’s Steve Kovach.  

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Apple Tim Cook waves to people during the opening of the first Apple Inc. flagship store in Mumbai, India on April 18, 2023.

Imtiyaz Shaikh | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Apple’s Mac and iPad businesses didn’t fare as well. The company warned last quarter that both business segments would decline, partially due to parts shortages, but they decreased more than expectations.  

Apple’s Mac business fell more than 31% to just over $7.17 billion. But it’s a difficult comparison versus the same time last year when Apple was still benefiting from the end of a pandemic boom in PC sales and a shift to its own chips that offer longer laptop battery life.  

“There’s really two reasons for that,” Cook said. “One is the macro situation in general. And the other is where we’re still comparing to the very difficult compare of the M1 MacBook Pro 14 and 16-inch from the year-ago quarter.” 

Revenue from iPads declined nearly 13% to $6.67 billion.  

Apple’s Services business includes monthly subscriptions, revenue from Apple’s App Store, warranties, and search licensing revenue from companies like Google. Apple reported $20.9 billion in services revenue, a 5.45% annual increase, showing that the company’s most highest-margin line of business continues to grow.  

Apple’s wearables division, including Apple Watch and headphones such as AirPods, dropped 1% during the quarter, beating analyst expectations. Last fall, Apple released a more expensive Apple Watch, called Ultra.  

Apple’s greater China business, which includes Taiwan and Hong Kong in addition to the mainland, reported $17.81 billion in sales, down from last year’s $18.34 billion. Analysts had hoped that China’s demand for electronics would rise this year as the company exits out of Covid-era lockdowns and other restrictions.  

While sales shrunk in most regions that Apple monitors, they grew in its Asia Pacific region to $8.11 billion.

Cook was optimistic about Apple’s prospects in India. Cook visited India last month to open Apple stores and meet with politicians.  

“The switcher and first-time buyer metrics look very good there for India,” Cook said. Apple uses the term “switcher” to refer to first-time iPhone buyers who previously had Android devices.  

As expected, Apple’s board authorized $90 billion in share repurchases and dividends. Apple said it paid $23 billion in buybacks and dividends in the March quarter. Apple also raised its dividend 4% to 24 cents per share.  

Cook also said that Apple was not planning layoffs like those that other big tech companies have started over the past year.  

“I view that as a last resort and, so, mass layoffs is not something that we’re talking about at this moment,” Cook said.  

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Amazon extends Prime Day to four days, starting July 8

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Amazon extends Prime Day to four days, starting July 8

An Amazon worker moves boxes on Amazon Prime Day in the East Village of New York City, July 11, 2023.

Spencer Platt | Getty Images

Amazon is extending its Prime Day discount bonanza, announcing that the annual sale will run four days this year.

The 96-hour event will start at 12:01 a.m. PT on July 8, and continue through July 11, Amazon said in a release.

For the first time, the company will roll out themed “deal drops” that change daily and are available “while supplies last.” Amazon has in recent years toyed with adding more limited-run and invite-only deals during Prime Day events to create a feeling of urgency or scarcity.

Amazon launched Prime Day in 2015 as a way to secure new members for its $139-a-year loyalty program, and to promote its own products and services while providing a sales boost in the middle of the year. In 2019, the company made Prime Day a 48-hour event, and it’s since added a second Prime Day-like event in the fall.

Prime Day is also a significant revenue driver for other retailers, which often host competing discount events.

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SK Hynix shares extend gains to over 2-decade highs as parent group reportedly plans AI data center

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SK Hynix shares extend gains to over 2-decade highs as parent group reportedly plans AI data center

Illustration of the SK Hynix company logo seen displayed on a smartphone screen.

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Shares in South Korea’s SK Hynix extended gains to hit a more than 2-decade high on Tuesday, following reports over the weekend that SK Group plans to build the country’s largest AI data center.

SK Hynix shares, which have surged almost 50% so far this year on the back of an AI boom, were up nearly 3%, following gains on Monday. 

The company’s parent, SK Group, plans to build the AI data center in partnership with Amazon Web Services in Ulsan, according to domestic media. SK Telecom and SK Broadband are reportedly leading the initiative, with support from other affiliates, including SK Hynix. 

SK Hynix is a leading supplier of dynamic random access memory or DRAM — a type of semiconductor memory found in PCs, workstations and servers that is used to store data and program code.

The company’s DRAM rival, Samsung, was also trading up 4% on Tuesday. However, it’s growth has fallen behind that of SK Hynix.

On Friday, Samsung Electronics’ market cap reportedly slid to a 9-year low of 345.1 trillion won ($252 billion) as the chipmaker struggles to capitalize on AI-led demand. 

SK Hynix, on the other hand, has become a leader in high bandwidth memory — a type of DRAM used in artificial intelligence servers — supplying to clients such as AI behemoth Nvidia. 

A report from Counterpoint Research in April said that SK Hynix had captured 70% of the HBM market by revenue share in the first quarter.

This HBM strength helped it overtake Samsung in the overall DRAM market for the first time ever, with a 36% global market share as compared to Samsung’s 34%. 

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OpenAI wins $200 million U.S. defense contract

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OpenAI wins 0 million U.S. defense contract

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the Snowflake Summit in San Francisco on June 2, 2025.

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OpenAI has been awarded a $200 million contract to provide the U.S. Defense Department with artificial intelligence tools.

The department announced the one-year contract on Monday, months after OpenAI said it would collaborate with defense technology startup Anduril to deploy advanced AI systems for “national security missions.”

“Under this award, the performer will develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains,” the Defense Department said. It’s the first contract with OpenAI listed on the Department of Defense’s website.

Anduril received a $100 million defense contract in December. Weeks earlier, OpenAI rival Anthropic said it would work with Palantir and Amazon to supply its AI models to U.S. defense and intelligence agencies.

Sam Altman, OpenAI’s co-founder and CEO, said in a discussion with OpenAI board member and former National Security Agency leader Paul Nakasone at a Vanderbilt University event in April that “we have to and are proud to and really want to engage in national security areas.”

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Defense Department specified that the contract is with OpenAI Public Sector LLC, and that the work will mostly occur in the National Capital Region, which encompasses Washington, D.C., and several nearby counties in Maryland and Virginia.

Meanwhile, OpenAI is working to build additional computing power in the U.S. In January, Altman appeared alongside President Donald Trump at the White House to announce the $500 billion Stargate project to build AI infrastructure in the U.S.

The new contract will represent a small portion of revenue at OpenAI, which is generating over $10 billion in annualized sales. In March, the company announced a $40 billion financing round at a $300 billion valuation.

In April, Microsoft, which supplies cloud infrastructure to OpenAI, said the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency has authorized the use of the Azure OpenAI service with secret classified information. 

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