Apple took center stage Thursday when it reported earnings from the first three months of the year, providing an early glimpse into the impact of the U.S.-China trade war on its border-spanning business, though analysts largely suggest investors won’t leave with all their questions answered.
Apple stock slumped early Thursday after receiving a legal blow.
Apple generated $95.4 billion in revenue, compared to consensus analyst estimates of $94.4 billion, and $1.65 earnings per share ($24.8 billion net income), compared to forecasts of $1.62 EPS ($24.3 billion net income), according to FactSet.
Apple’s sales grew by 5% and its profit jumped by 8% compared to 2024’s first quarter, while iPhone sales rose to $46.8 billion, better than forecasts of $46 billion,
But sales in Apple’s Greater China region slipped to $16 billion, well below projections of $17 billion, and revenue in its high-margin services division including the App Store and Apple Music came in at $26.6 billion, just below estimates of $26.7 billion.
Shares of Apple were down about 2% in after hours trading.
The company announced it upped its quarterly cash dividend to $0.26 per share and its board approved a $100 billion share buyback program.
Thursday’s print won’t be a “key catalyst for the stock,” according to Morgan Stanley analysts led by Erik Woodring, explaining they “fear” investors won’t learn “much” on the host of high-stakes questions hovering over the company swept up in geopolitics. “Because of all the policy gyrations, Apple's performance this quarter is unlikely to be meaningfully indicative of long-term value,” added Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett in a Thursday note.
To those analysts’ points, the quarter discussed in Thursday’s earnings report didn’t include the company’s topsy turvy April, including Trump’s far more aggressive than anticipated “Liberation Day” country-by-country duties and his standing down on his most aggressive levies. Notably for Apple, the White House lowered tariffs on Chinese smartphone imports from 145% to 20%, lowering Apple’s projected tariff profit hit from 29% to 5%, according to UBS. “I speak to Tim Cook. I helped Tim Cook, recently, and that whole business,” Trump said following the exemption about his relationship with Apple CEO Tim Cook. Apple assembles about 90% of iPhones in China, and generated about 17% of its revenue last fiscal year from its Greater China reporting segment.
Apple’s earnings report “will be an exercise in navigating policy minefields,” predicted Crockett.
In the latest development of Apple’s legal standoff against Fortnite maker Epic Games, a federal judge ruled Wednesday that Apple knowingly violated a court order prohibiting the Silicon Valley titan from collecting fees on purchases made outside of iOS apps. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said the company made “obvious lies” in court, holding the company in contempt.