11.02.20 - Apple was just able to achieve a modest revenue gain during the three months ending September 30, beating many analyst projections that sales would fall during this last quarter.
Apple reported on Thursday $64.7 billion in revenue during the quarter, up 1% from the same period last year, and $1 billion ahead of the revenue many analysts had expected and predicted. Apple also posted earnings of $0.73 per share, compared to analysts' projected EPS of $0.70.
Despite the better-than-expected results, Apple's stock fell more than 5% in after-hours trading Thursday. Investors may be disappointed at the slowdown in sales growth from last quarter when increased demand driven by the pandemic contributed to an 11% year-over-year revenue gain.
They may also have noted that iPhone sales declined 20% during the September quarter compared with the prior year. That is likely at least in part because this year's September quarter did not include sales of the new iPhone 12, Apple's highly anticipated 5G smartphone that launched earlier this month.
Last year's September quarter sales number included the first 10 days' worth of sales of the iPhone 11. But the iPhone 12 launch was delayed this year by the pandemic, so it didn't go on sale until after the quarter had ended. Because the quarter's results didn't include sales of the iPhone 12, which some analysts expect to generate a massive wave of upgrades many think in that sense you shouldn't read too much into them.
Source: Financial Times
