Apple Inc on Wednesday reported holiday quarter sales and profits that beat Wall Street expectations, as new 5G iPhones helped push handset revenue to a new record and sparked a 57% rise in China sales.
Apple shipped its iPhone 12 lineup several weeks later than usual, but an expanded number of models and new look tapped pent up demand for upgrades, especially in China. The company also posted strong sales of its Mac laptops and iPads in the quarter, driven by consumers working, learning, and playing from home during the pandemic.
Apple’s revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 26 rose 21% to $111.44 billion. Earnings per share rose to $1.68 from $1.25, beating Wall Street targets, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Sales of iPhones were $65.60 billion and beat a record set three years ago.
Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri told investors that revenue growth was likely to accelerate on a year-over-year basis in the current fiscal second quarter and that gross margins were likely to be similar to the fiscal first quarter’s rate of 39.7%. He also said the company’s services segment revenue faced a tough comparison to the year before, when the pandemic lifted sales, and that year-over-year growth in the company’s wearables segment would slow.
Shares of Apple were down 2.6% at $138.33 in after-hours trade following the report but have risen nearly 12% since Jan. 15. Apple shares rose 85% over the previous year, versus 46% for the Nasdaq 100, of which it is a component.