iPhone sales down 10 pc in March quarter, Apple stock up after $110 billion buyback

Apple has reported a 10 per cent decline in iPhone sales for its March quarter, from $51.33 billion to $45.96 billion (year-over-year), primarily driven by a slowdown in China market.

However, Apple managed to beat the Wall Street expectations and its stock went up more than 6 per cent after hours on Thursday, as the company set an all-time revenue record in Services with $23.9 billion, up 14 per cent (on-year).

Apple also announced a massive $110 billion stock buyback from last year’s $90 billion.

“Keep in mind, as we described on the last call in the March quarter a year ago, we were able to replenish iPhone channel inventory and fulfill significant pent up demand from the December quarter COVID-related supply disruptions on the iPhone 14 pro and 14 Pro Max,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook.

This one-time impact added close to $5 billion to the March quarter revenue last year.

“If we removed this from last year’s results, our March quarter total company revenue this year would have grown,” Cook told analysts during the earnings call.

The revenue for Mac devices was $7.5 billion, up 4 per cent from a year ago.

In iPad, revenue for the March quarter was $5.6 billion, 17 per cent lower year-over-year due to a difficult compare with the momentum following the launch of M2 iPad Pro and the 10th generation iPad last fiscal year.

“iPad continues to stand apart for its versatility, power, and performance. For video editors, music makers, and creatives of all kinds, iPad is empowering users to do more than they ever could with a tablet,” said Cook.

Apple is set to launch new iPads next week. The company has not refreshed its tablet line-up since 2022.

The company is also reportedly exploring potential partnerships with Google and OpenAI for AI features in its device line-up.

“Given our confidence in Apple’s future and the value we see in our stock, our Board has authorised an additional $110 billion for share repurchases. We are also raising our quarterly dividend for the twelfth year in a row,” said Apple CFO Luca Maestri.