Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported revenue of $78.4 billion and earnings per share of $3.36 for their fiscal first quarter 2017. These values outperformed fiscal first quarter 2016 values, implying that the Cupertino consumer electronics company started their fiscal year strong. Despite the strong performance, Apple’s financial outlook is expected to decline for fiscal second quarter 2017.
Brief summary of earnings report
As the company set all-time record iPhone, Services, Mac and Apple Watch sales during the 2016 holiday season, Apple generated its “highest quarterly revenue ever,” breaking multiple records along the way according to CEO Tim Cook. Quarterly revenues increased about $2.5 billion from the prior year quarter while earnings per share improved by $0.08.
Apple’s products include the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Services and Other. Service revenue includes sales from Digital Content, AppleCare, ApplePay and licensing. Other revenue includes sales from Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats and iPod.
The company operates in several regions globally, including the Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan and the rest of the Asia Pacific. For the Americas, Apple reported about $32 billion in revenue, about 40% of the company’s total revenues. Year over year revenues increased 9%, outperforming the other regions except for Japan, where year over year revenues increased 20%.
Although the company had strong revenue growth in Japan and the Americas, Apple’s overall year-over-year revenue growth is just 3%. Lower iPad sales and revenue from the Greater China region decreased the company’s overall revenue growth. Despite this, Service revenue strongly grew over the past 12 months led by “record customer activity on the App Store.” The CEO further praises the company’s “products in [Apple’s] pipeline.”
As the company had record high EPS in the past quarter, Apple had strong operating cash flows. Chief financial officer Luca Maestri reported that the company returned about $15 billion to shareholders and investors, including a dividend of $0.57 per common share payable Feb. 16. The company’s cumulative capital return program payments exceeded $200 billion during the quarter. (Forbes)
