Apple’s earnings show a sudden jump in iPhone sales and a 4% increase in profits

The company reported fiscal revenue for the second quarter of $94.8 billion, down from $97.3 billion a year earlier, while analysts expected $92.9 billion. iPhone category revenue rose to $51.3 billion from $50.6 billion, with analysts polled by FactSet expecting a drop to $48.7 billion.

Apple reported net income of $24.2 billion, or $1.52 per share, compared to $25 billion, or $1.52 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Analysts were working out $1.43 a share in earnings on average, according to FactSet.

Apple’s results arrived amid concerns about the state of consumer electronics spending, given troubling third-party data points and cautious signals from players like Qualcomm Inc.

QCOM

and DuPont de Nemours Inc.

DD

The company saw a sharp decline in revenue in the iPad and Mac categories. iPad sales fell to $6.7 billion from $7.6 billion to match the FactSet consensus. Mac revenue fell to $7.2 billion from $10.4 billion, while analysts were looking for $7.8 billion.

Apple’s wearables, home and accessories category was basically flat, with sales of $8.8 billion. The FactSet consensus called for $8.4 billion. The Services segment showed growth, with revenue coming in at $20.9 billion from roughly $19.8 billion in line with the FactSet consensus of $21.0 billion.

SEE ALSO: Qualcomm Stock Drops as Apple iPhone Stock Subsidized Contributes to Weak Outlook

Apple also announced Thursday that it boosted its buyback program by $90 billion while raising its quarterly dividend by 4%, to 24 cents a share. That compares to a $90 billion increase in share repurchase authorization and a 5% increase in earnings a year ago.

The company hasn’t offered traditional guidance since the pandemic began, and stuck to that practice in Thursday’s release. Executives may provide more qualitative signals on the company’s earnings call that could determine the eventual direction of Apple shares.

The end result may simply be driven [fiscal third-quarter] guidance, as investors may look for assurances and clarity on the limited downside despite the overall difficulty, even if it comes to ensuring that revenue declines don’t deteriorate further than the moderate 5% that investors actually expect, JPMorgan’s Samik Chatterjee said in a note to clients ahead of the report. .