Apple iPhone sales hit record $85B as CEO Tim Cook calls demand staggering
Apple on Thursday forecast a surge of up to 16% in revenue for the March quarter, well ahead of Wall Street’s expectations, powered by strong demand for its iPhones and a sharp rebound in China.That followed holiday-quarter results that beat estimates as well, with CEO Tim Cook telling Reuters that demand for the latest handsets was “staggering.”Apple’s iPhone 17 lineup helped lift sales across key markets, easing investor concerns about a hardware sales plateau.The devices have been well received for their upgraded camera features and performance improvements, with Apple also benefiting from a wave of upgrades from users holding onto older models.Apple shares rose 3.5% in extended trading after the results were released, but later pared gains to trade up 0.8%.Apple expects revenue for its fiscal second quarter to grow 13% to 16%, versus a 10% rise that analysts expected, according to LSEG.
The company also forecast operating expenses of $18.4 billion to $18.7 billion, slightly above spending in the first quarter.IPhone revenue rose to $85.27 billion in the fiscal first quarter ended Dec., well above the $78.65 billion analysts had expected. Apple said iPhone sales set records in every geographic segment, highlighting broad-based demand despite macroeconomic uncertainty.“The demand for iPhone was simply staggering, with revenue growing 23% year over year to achieve its biggest quarter in history,” Cook told Reuters in an interview.The iPhone maker posted quarterly revenue of $143.8 billion, up 16% from a year earlier, topping analysts’ average estimate of $138.48 billion, according to LSEG.Cook said that the company now has an installed base of 2.5 billion devices.Earnings per share came in at $2.84, comfortably ahead of the $2.67 consensus.Apple reported fiscal first-quarter gross margins of 48.2%, above both its own guidance and analyst expectations of 47.45%, according to LSEG data.
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