Oct 30, 2019

Apple: iPhone 11 off to "very, very good start"

Apple CEO Tim Cook introducing the iPhone 11 Pro. Photo: Apple

Apple delivered a generally positive earnings report on Wednesday, with CEO Tim Cook telling Reuters that iPhone 11 sales are off to a "very, very good start."

Why it matters: The iPhone is the bulk of Apple's business and critical to driving demand for its other products.

Apple's services and accessories businesses, two fast-growing areas for the company, grew somewhat faster than analysts had been expecting.

By the numbers:

  • Apple reported revenue of $64 billion, up 2% from a year earlier, and per-share earnings of $3.03, up 4%.
  • Services revenue totaled $12.5 billion, up from $10.6 billion at the same time last year.
  • Wearables and accessories were $6.5 billion, up from $4.2 billion a year earlier.
  • iPhone sales were $33.4 billion, down from $36.8 billion a year ago.
  • Mac sales were just below $7 billion, down from $7.3 billion in the prior year.
  • For the current quarter, which goes through December, Apple forecast revenue of between $85.5 billion and $89.5 billion, roughly around the range of what analysts were expecting.

Shares of Apple were up slightly in after-hours trading, changing hands recently at $245.70, up $2.44 or 1%.

On its conference call with analysts:

  • Apple announced that the U.S. Census would be collecting using hundreds of thousands iOS devices to securely collect population data.
  • The company will also allow those with its Apple Card credit card to buy an iPhone interest free over 24 months.

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