ALBAWABA - Following the bell on Thursday, Apple revealed its third-quarter profits, which exceeded analysts' projections and showed a 5% increase in overall revenue to $85.78 billion. In Greater China, however, revenues fell 6% to $14.72 billion.
Apple reported $1.40 profits per share (EPS) for the quarter on $85.5 billion in sales. EPS of $1.35 and $84.4 billion in sales were what analysts were expecting, according to estimates aggregated by Bloomberg. At the same time last year, Apple reported $81.7 billion in sales and $1.26 in earnings per share.
Despite a challenging start to the year, Apple's shares have increased by around 18.6% year to date. This may be partially attributed to the company's performance at the Worldwide Developer Conference in May, when it unveiled its Apple Intelligence software, as Yahoo reports.
On a conference call Thursday to review third-quarter earnings, CEO Tim Cook said upcoming Apple Intelligence capabilities would give users a new incentive to purchase new phones. While Apple can't yet say how its new Apple Intelligence service would affect sales until it ships later this autumn, Cook said the firm has increased expenditure in preparation for the release.
Apple claimed it has more active devices in all regions than ever before, but did not provide a figure. The active device count represents a group of clients to whom it may provide lucrative services. The company also reported 1 billion paid memberships, including Apple App Store iPhone app subscriptions.
Over $6.8 billion in sales from the segment the previous year, Mac's revenue climbed to $7 billion. Apple claimed $8.2 billion in wearable sales last year; however, this year's revenues fell to $8 billion. “A whopping two-thirds of the Apple Watch buyers were new to the product. So, we’re still growing that base significantly,” Cook commented.
On the other hand, Apple's sales in greater China, which also includes Taiwan and Hong Kong, fell by 6% to a total of $14.72 billion. Due to the introduction of competitive devices by local competitors like as Huawei, Apple is facing increased competition in mainland China.
"I don't know how every chapter of the book reads, but we're very confident in the long term," Cook said on a conference call with investors, according to CNBC.
