Apple’s first quarter earnings beat analysts’ forecasts, with the company reporting $2.40 per share on revenue of $124.3 billion. This is higher than the EPS and revenue anticipated by Bloomberg consensus estimates.
However, the company’s iPhone sales in China declined 11% from the previous year. CEO Tim Cook explained that this decline was largely due to changes in channel inventory, not weaker demand for iPhones. He noted that Apple shipped fewer iPhones to suppliers in Greater China, but still saw higher-than-expected sales towards the end of the quarter.
Analysts are optimistic about Apple’s future prospects, with JPMorgan raising its price target to $270 from $260. Citi also maintained its Buy rating on the stock, citing better-than-feared results and comments from Cook suggesting that iPhone AI features could boost China sales.
Raymond James analyst Srini Pajjuri noted that Apple is well-positioned to navigate an AI bubble due to its ecosystem strength, hardware capabilities, and privacy focus. Jefferies analyst Edison Lee was more skeptical, downgrading the stock to Underperform, but acknowledged that market expectations for iPhone’s upgrade cycle may be too high.
Overall, Apple’s earnings beat forecasts and demonstrate the company’s resilience in a rapidly changing tech landscape.
Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/better-than-feared-apples-earnings-beat-appeases-wall-street-despite-iphone-sales-miss-145315110.html