AAPL Stock Rises After Company Posts Record $88.3 Billion Revenue

After numerous reports citing weak iPhone X sales, Apple posted on Thursday record results for the quarter ending in December 2017.

Apple saw its stock rise on Thursday, after share prices had been decreasing for nearly two weeks. While the company’s stock price was in a more positive trend, it was still below the price shares had last week. Apple saw its share prices begin to decline earlier this month amid reports of weak iPhone X sales. Shares were at $179.26 on Jan. 18. before they began to decline. On Thursday they were at $167.78 when the market closed and $172.78 in after-hour trading.

Apple posted a record $88.3 billion revenue for Q1 2018, higher than the $84-87 billion estimate the company expected. Q1 revenue saw a 13 percent year-on-year increase. The company said international sales made up 65 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple also posted another record: $3.89 earnings per diluted share, a 16 percent increase from a year-ago quarter.

“We’re thrilled to report Apple’s biggest quarter ever,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in the earnings call on Thursday. He noted that the quarter was 13 weeks long, compared to the year-ago quarter that was 14 weeks.

iPhone X Sales: Apple Q1 Earnings

Cook said the iPhone X, which was released in November, was the “top-selling phone every week since it launched.” He noted that the device was released later than when it usually launches iPhones and that there were constraints in the beginning.

Cook said revenue from the latest iPhone lineup was the “highest in Apple history.”

“We’ve also achieved a significant milestone with our active installed base of devices reaching 1.3 billion in January,” Cook said in a press release. “That’s an increase of 30 percent in just two years, which is a testament to the popularity of our products and the loyalty and satisfaction of our customers.”

While Apple’s iPhone revenue was high, the number of sold iPhone units was lower than a year-ago quarter. iPhone sales in Q1 2018 were down one percent from Q1 2017.

As for Apple’s paid services, which includes Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud plans, the company said it has surpassed 240 million subscribers. Apple said it saw a growth of 30 million subscribers in the last 90 days alone. Apple’s paid services saw an overall growth of 58 percent year-on-year, Apple CFO Luca Maestri said in the earnings call.

The company also boasted its Apple Watch sales, which grew by 50 percent. Sales of the Apple Watch Series 3, which was released last September, were much higher than the Series 2, Cook said.

Apple expects revenue to decrease in the current quarter to $60-62 billion. Apple’s guidance for its fiscal 2018 second quarter is as follows:

• revenue between $60 billion and $62 billion

• gross margin between 38 percent and 38.5 percent

• operating expenses between $7.6 billion and $7.7 billion

• other income/(expense) of $300 million

• tax rate of approximately 15 percent