Apple’s iPhone sales plummet from last quarter

Apple also announced $100 billion share buyback announcement where it will use the overseas cash brought back to the USA as part of Trump administration’s repatriation program. The company’s iPhone shares were below analysts’ outlook however, but the company managed to bring in more revenue than projected through its services business.

On the back of that, the tech giant has seen disappointing sales of the iPhone 8 and iPhone X as well as weak results from Apple supplier TSMC in the first quarter.

Total iPhone sales during the quarter, which account for more than 60 percent of Apple’s total revenue, rose by 14 percent from previous year. That was the fastest growth in more than two years. That was after the shares rose 2.3% in normal trading.

Apple shares rose 3.5% in U.S. after hours trading Wednesday morning as it produced better than expected revenue, earnings and confirmed a $US100 billion increase in its buyback.

For Q3 2018, Apple is offering a revenue guidance range between $51.5 billion and $53.5 billion, with gross margin between 38 percent and 38.5 percent.

Just how well the new iPhone model has been selling has been of intense concern to investors and analysts. “It was a solid quarter”.

Apple Inc on Tuesday reported a strong set of numbers, beating revenue and profit expectations for the March quarter of financial year 2017-18.

Profits also beat views at $2.73 per share, better than the $2.68 forecast and higher than the $2.10 in the same period past year. Apple’s Board has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.73 per share of Apple’s common stock payable on May 17, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 14.

Its “other” category of revenue, which includes Apple Watch, AirPods headphones, and accessories, rose by 38%, to $3.95 billion. “Our objective over time is to go in there with all of our different initiatives from retail and everything else”, said Cook during the company’s earnings call. “And so that’s how we look at that”, he added. China generated $13 billion in revenue in the last quarter, trailing Europe by just about $800 million.

Apple CEO Tim Cook visited the White House earlier this month, where he discussed Chinese tariffs and US tax reform, according to Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council. That would be more effect from the supposedly failed iPhone X, which has sent iPhone’s average selling price (ASP) much higher.

“China, I continue to believe is a phenomenal country with lots of opportunity from a market point of view, but also lots of opportunity from an app developer’s point of view”, Cook said during the earnings call.

Dan Ives, head of technology research at GBH Insights, said that forecast “was much better than feared and will be a major relief” to investors heading toward the next iPhone release later this year.

No matter how you slice it, Apple isn’t hurting for cash. “The $100 billion buyback is good for right now but it’s not exactly looking to the future”. Apple also increased its quarterly dividend to 73 cents a share from 63 cents.