Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reported its fiscal first-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Tuesday. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, even considers this the best quarter that Apple has had ever, beating out the fiscal first quarter from last year. The company delivered all-time record sales for iPhones, Apple Watches and the Apple TV. But is Apple’s record quarter really that great?
The iPhone giant had $3.28 in earnings per share (EPS) on $75.9 billion in revenue, which compared to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters of $3.23 in EPS on $76.59 billion in revenue. The same period from the previous year had $3.06 in EPS on $74.60 billion in revenue.
In terms of guidance for the fiscal second quarter the company expects revenue in the range of $50 billion to $53 billion, gross margin between 39% and 39.5%, and a tax rate of 25.5%. There are consensus estimates that call for $2.23 in EPS on $55.64 billion in revenue.
The board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.52 per share for the common stock that is payable on February 11, 2016, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on February 8.
In terms of the products:
- iPhones shipped 74.78 million units for $51.64 billion in revenue, up from 74.47 million units and $51.18 billion in revenue from the same period last year.
- iPads shipped 16.12 million units for $7.08 billion in revenue, versus 21.42 million units and $8.99 billion in revenue last year.
- Mac shipped 5.32 million units for $6.75 billion in revenue compared to last year’s 5.52 million units and $6.94 billion in revenue.
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Despite a record quarter from the iPhone segment, there is still something to be desired from iPads and Macs to make this a truly strong quarter. Sure it might sound great when Tim Cook says it, but the numbers appear to be underwhelming.
Luca Maestri, CFO of Apple, commented:
Our record sales and strong margins drove all-time records for net income and EPS in spite of a very difficult macroeconomic environment. We generated operating cash flow of $27.5 billion during the quarter, and returned over $9 billion to investors through share repurchases and dividends. We have now completed $153 billion of our $200 billion capital return program.
On the books the company has $37.97 billion in cash, equivalents, and short term investments at the end of the quarter compared to $41.60 billion at the end of the 2015 fiscal year.
Shares of Apple closed Tuesday up 0.6% at $99.99, with a consensus analyst price target of $142.67 and a 52-week trading range of $92.00 to $134.54. Following the release of the earnings report, the stock was down 1% at $99.00 in the after-hours trading session.
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