Apple shares came close to wiping out their year-to-date losses on Friday after the iPhone maker exceeded analysts’ downbeat expectations for quarterly revenue and executives projected a positive outlook for the year despite a bumpy start to 2024.
The tech company on Thursday reported revenue of $90.75bn in the first three months of 2024, down 4 per cent from the year before but slightly ahead of consensus estimates for $90.3bn. Sales of its flagship iPhone were down 10 per cent from the year before to $46bn, compared with $51.3bn the previous year, and sales in China — a region on which investors have been particularly focused — fell to $16.3bn for the quarter, against $17.8bn a year ago.
But investors had feared this quarter could have been worse, and Apple’s shares rose about 6 per cent on Friday after the earnings release. The company also announced another $110bn in share buybacks and raised its quarterly dividend by 4 per cent.