Apple Inc. (AAPL, Financial), one of the world’s largest computer hardware companies, reported higher fiscal second-quarter revenue and earnings through high customer response on several products, including the iPhone 7, the MacBook Pro and the Apple Watch.
The Cupertino tech giant reported $52.9 billion in revenues and $2.10 in earnings per diluted share during the quarter ending March 31. These values outperformed comparable values from the prior-year quarter: revenues increased approximately $2.3 billion while earnings rose 30 cents per share.
CEO Tim Cook mentioned that March quarter revenue growth accelerated from the December quarter as customers had robust demand for the iPhone 7 Plus and the MacBook Pro. According to management, customer satisfaction reached at least 95% for each of Apple’s core products: the iPhone, the MacBook Pro and the Apple Watch. High customer satisfaction rates contributed to increasing iPhone sales in four of the company’s global regions, including the Western U.S. Apple also set a new March record for MacBook sales in the Greater China region. Management said the revenues from wearable products for the past four quarters will “equal that of a Fortune 500 company.”
As the company produced strong revenue and earnings performance, Apple’s board of directors increased their share repurchase program by $50 billion, planning to return $300 billion to shareholders by March 2019. The board also announced a dividend of 63 cents per share, an increase of 10.5% from the prior quarter.
Apple’s stock price trades around $147.51 per share, up 0.63% from the previous close of $146.58 per share.
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According to a previous article, gurus have high ownership in the tech giant. Fourteen gurus, including Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio), have a combined weighting of 26.04%. The Most Broadly Held Portfolio realized a cumulative gain of 154.94% on the stock from January 2012 to May 2017.
Disclosure: No position in Apple.
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