Apple Inc’s fiscal second-quarter profit jumped 36 percent on blistering sales of Macintosh computers — and beat Wall Street estimates — but its stock dipped on a lower-than-expected profit forecast.
The Mac and iPod maker is believed to be especially vulnerable to slowing consumer spending in the US because of its stronger presence here than overseas and because many of its products carry a premium price tag.
Those fears have contributed to a 20 percent decline in Apple’s stock price since the start of the year.
PHOTO: AP
But the company has traditionally issued conservative financial forecasts, and sales in the US were particularly strong in the latest quarter, rising 40 percent over last year.
So many investors were left scratching their heads about how to interpret Apple’s guidance.
Apple shares fell US$1.18, or less than 1 percent, to US$161.71 in after-hours trading, climbing back from a dip of nearly 5 percent right after the close of trading and the release of the earnings report. The shares had closed up US$2.69, or 1.7 percent, at US$162.89, during the regular session.
“The stock was all over the place, but I thought it was a great quarter,” said Jane Snorek, senior analyst of technology stocks at First American Funds.
“The most important part is that the Apple consumer seems to be immune to economic weakness,” she said.
“This is a very US-centric story. The guidance could have been horrendous. They could have said they were seeing pricing pressure, or the stores weren’t doing well. But I see it as, I’m perfectly safe buying the stock now,” she said.
The Cupertino, California-based company earned US$1.05 billion), or US$1.16 per share, in its second quarter, which ended on March 29. That’s US$0.09 per share better than what analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting on average.
During the same period last year, Apple earned US$770 million, or US$0.87 per share.
Revenue jumped 43 percent in the period to US$7.51 billion — also beating Wall Street’s expectations. Analysts were predicting Apple would rake in US$6.96 billion.
Apple said this year brought the strongest sales and earnings performance during the March quarter in Apple’s history.
Apple’s chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer, would not specifically address in an interview how Apple might be affected by slowing domestic consumer spending, but he noted that Apple’s sales growth overall is expected to continue accelerating, a sign the company is faring well despite the economic downturn.
The company forecast profits for the fiscal third quarter of US$1 per share, short of the US$1.10 per share in the average analyst estimate and at the low end of what all analysts polled were expecting.
The company expects sales of about US$7.2 billion, slightly above the US$7.16 billion Wall Street was expecting.
Apple sold 2.29 million Macintosh computers during the second quarter, a 51 percent jump over a year ago.
The company sold 10.6 million iPods during the quarter, 1 percent higher than last year, and 1.7 million iPhones.
Apple executives reiterated the company’s goal to sell 10 million iPhones by the end of this year.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)