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Apple Inc. on Thursday revealed surprise growth in its iPhone business during the first three months of the year, overcoming a shortfall in Mac revenue as the company promised investors billions more in dividends and stock repurchases.
Apple shares
AAPL,
rose 2.5% in extended trading.
The company reported fiscal second-quarter revenue of $94.8 billion, down from $97.3 billion a year before, while analysts had been expecting $92.9 billion. Revenue for the iPhone category rose to $51.3 billion from $50.6 billion, with analysts surveyed by FactSet expecting a decline to $48.7 billion.
Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said on the earnings call that the iPhone growth was driven by “strong performance in emerging markets from South Asia and India to Latin America and the Middle East.”
The company recently opened its first two Apple stores in India, and Chief Executive Tim Cook noted opportunity in India.
“What I do see in India is a lot of people entering the middle class, and I’m hopeful that we can convince some number of them to buy an iPhone,” he said.
Apple logged net income of $24.2 billion, or $1.52 a share, compared with $25 billion, or $1.52 a share, in the year-prior quarter. Analysts were modeling $1.43 a share in earnings on average, according to FactSet.
Apple’s results arrived amid concern about the state of consumer-electronics spending, given worrisome third-party data points and cautious signals from players like Qualcomm Inc.
QCOM,
and DuPont de Nemours Inc.
DD,
See also: Qualcomm stock falls as backed up Apple iPhone inventory contributes to weak outlook
The company saw steep revenue declines in both the iPad and Mac categories. Sales of iPads fell to $6.7 billion from $7.6 billion a year ago and matched the FactSet consensus. Mac revenue sank to $7.2 billion from $10.4 billion, while analysts were looking for $7.8 billion.
The Mac segment was up against tough comparisons to a year-ago period that saw the “incredibly successful rollout of our M1 chips,” Cook noted. It’s “facing some macroeconomic and foreign exchange headwinds as well.”
Apple’s wearables, home and accessories category was essentially flat, with sales of $8.8 billion. The FactSet consensus called for $8.4 billion. The services segment showed growth, with revenue up to $20.9 billion from $19.8 billion, roughly in line with the FactSet consensus of $21.0 billion.
Maestri noted that “certain services offerings, such as digital advertising and mobile gaming, continue to be affected by the current macroeconomic environment,” though advertising, Apple Care and video set revenue records for the March quarter.
Executives shared some very big-picture views on recent financial-services initiatives, though without any financial specifics. Apple’s recently launched savings account, which has a 4.15% yield, has had an “incredible” initial response, while Apple Pay Later, a buy-now-pay-later product, has received “really good” feedback as well, they said.
Apple also announced Thursday that it was boosting its buyback program by $90 billion while upping its quarterly dividend by 4% to 24 cents a share. That compares to a $90 billion increase to the share-repurchase authorization and 5% dividend hike a year ago.
While Apple stopped giving traditional guidance at the start of the pandemic, Maestri said on the call that he expects June-quarter revenue growth to be similar to what was seen in the March quarter on a year-over-year basis, assuming a stable macroeconomic climate.
Mullen Automotive Inc. is attracting more meme-like attention from retail investors than traditional meme stock darlings AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and GameStop Corp., according to an influential meme-stock trader.
The electric vehicle company’s stock has become the “meme go to” for retail investors, said the trader, who goes by the name Obi. The trader participates in the WallStreetBets group on Reddit under the user name Major-Access2321.
Obi, whose Making Easy Money YouTube channel has over 28,000 subscribers, said that Mullen
MULN,
is generating plenty of buzz across social media. “When it comes to meme stock world on Reddit, Twitter and now even Facebook, groups are popping up calling themselves the ‘MULN army’,” he told MarketWatch.
The trader said that “less and less” people are speaking about AMC Entertainment
AMC,
and GameStop
GME,
“More and more people are speaking about MULN … they call it the meme that makes sense,” he added.
Mullen shares have seen a dramatic spike in trading volume recently, with average trading volume of 1.1 billion shares Wednesday and 547.8 million shares over the past five days, according to FactSet data. The stock’s 65-day average trading volume is 279 million shares. Mullen ended Wednesday’s session down 21.1% on the company’s announcement of a reverse stock split.
Related: Mullen Automotive shares plunge on reverse stock split announcement
AMC’s stock ended Wednesday’s session up 4.4% on trading volume of 25.1 million shares, below its 65-day average trading volume of 35.4 million shares. GameStop’s stock closed up 1.7% Wednesday on trading volume of 3.2 million shares, below its 65-day average of 4.8 million shares.
The stock was down 18% on Thursday.
The over outlook for the EV market looks bright, according to Obi. “Retail feel like they have something special here with MULN,” he added.
On Wednesday Mullen Automotive Inc. announced that it will conduct the 1-for-25 reverse stock split as the electric-vehicle company looks to maintain its Nasdaq listing.
The stock will continue to trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the existing symbol “MULN” and will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis at market open Thursday.
In March, Mullen announced that the Nasdaq had approved the company’s request for a 180-day extension to meet the $1 minimum-bid-price requirement. On Sept. 7, 2022, the Nasdaq notified the company that its stock was not compliant with rules as it had traded below $1 for more than 30 days.
Related: After TOP Financial’s surge, influential meme-stock trader looks for next big opportunity
Mullen’s stock soared last year after Amazon.com Inc.’s
AMZN,
delivery partner placed an order for up to 600 cargo vans, and the company has since teamed up with Rapid Response Defense Systems to supply vans for federal government business.
In December, Mullen announced that it is partnering with Loop Global Inc. to build public and private EV-charging technology, infrastructure and network solutions. Earlier this year, Mullen joined forces with Qiantu Motors to launch what they called an EV supercar.
PacWest Bancorp PACW shares tumbled more than 50% in after-hours trading Wednesday, taking other bank stocks with it after a report that the company’s executives were weighing a possible sale.
The report, from Bloomberg News, adds to the concerns over the financial stability of regional banks, following the collapse in March of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, and the sale of First Republic Bank to JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM this week. PacWest’s shares have been diving this week in the wake of First Republic’s collapse….
Qualcomm Inc. shares fell in the extended session Wednesday after the chip maker said inventory issues will remain past June because of a downturn in handset demand and the company’s outlook disappointed.
After declining 2.8% to close the regular session $112.83, Qualcomm
QCOM,
shares started sliding after the release of the company’s results at Wednesday’s close, and sank to a deficit of more than 7% after hours by the time the executives’ call with analysts ended. Shares ended the extended trading session down 6.6%.
On the conference call, Qualcomm Chief Executive Cristiano Amon told analysts that the “evolving macroeconomic backdrop has resulted in further demand deterioration, particularly in handsets, at a magnitude greater than we previously forecasted.”
Earlier, Qualcomm had forecast adjusted earnings of $1.70 to $1.90 a share on revenue of $8.1 billion to $8.9 billion for the fiscal third quarter. Analysts had estimated earnings of $2.17 a share on revenue of $9.13 billion for the third quarter.
FactSet
Last quarter, Qualcomm said inventory issues would persist into June, and Wall Street pretty much accepted it. Qualcomm’s inventory problems go back to last year, when the company’s share price fell in November to lows not seen in more than two years after executives said there was up to 10 weeks of inventory in the channel, and forecast a $2 billion shortfall coming off record sales.
A drop in handset demand, however, has extended the time frame of inventory drawdowns considerably past the previously forecast end of June, the company said. As its largest business segment, Qualcomm handset sales fell 17% to $6.11 billion from a year ago.
“As a result, we’re operating under the assumption that inventory drawdown dynamics remain a significant factor for at least the next couple quarters,” Amon told analysts. “Additionally, while expectations are for a rebound in China demand in the second half of the calendar year, we have not seen evidence of meaningful recovery and are not incorporating improvements into our planning assumptions.”
The company reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $1.7 billion, or $1.52 a share, compared with $2.93 billion, or $2.57 a share, in the year-ago period. The chip maker reported adjusted earnings, which exclude stock-based compensation expenses and other items, of $2.15 a share, compared with $3.21 a share in the year-ago period. Total revenue for the quarter fell to $9.28 billion from $11.16 billion in the year-ago period.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast $2.15 a share on revenue of $9.09 billion, based on Qualcomm’s forecast of $2.05 to $2.25 a share on revenue of $8.7 billion to $9.5 billion.
In Qualcomm’s other end-market segments, auto sales rose 20% to $447 million and Internet-of-Things sales fell 24% to $1.39 billion for the second quarter, the company said.
Late Monday, auto chip supplier NXP Semiconductor NV
NXPI,
topped Wall Street expectations, and shares rallied Tuesday, while last week, another big supplier to the auto market, Texas Instruments Inc.
TXN,
said that sales to the auto industry remained strong.
Qualcomm shares already lag the broader chip sector and market, and were up only 3% year to date at Wednesday’s close. In comparison, the PHLX Semiconductor Index
SOX,
has surged 17%, the S&P 500 index
SPX,
has gained 7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
has grown 15%.
In other chip earnings, Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
AMD,
shares dropped 9.2% Wednesday after the chip maker’s optimism for the second half of the year late Tuesday did not rub off on analysts.
And last week, Intel Corp.
INTC,
reported its largest quarterly loss ever, but saw its shares rise because PC and data-center sales, while on the decline, had come in better than expected. Intel also lowered expectations on its forecast.
Ford Motor Co. late Tuesday swung to a quarterly profit and reported a 20% rise in sales, but the stock fell 1.4% in the extended session as Wall Street seemed to question Ford’s unchanged guidance.
Ford F “delivered a solid quarter while making real progress on our Ford+ growth plan,” Chief Executive Jim Farley said in a call with analysts following results.
“I…
AMD reports earnings and revenue that top expectations
Icahn Enterprises LP stock tumbled 25% Tuesday to put it on track for a record one-day decline, after short seller Hindenburg Research issued a negative report against the investment arm of activist investor Carl Icahn.
The stock’s previous one-day record decline was a loss of 19.5% on Nov. 20, 2008. The market cap loss today is about $4.48 billion.
Icahn…
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Stock futures were falling Tuesday ahead of the start of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy-setting meeting and after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.
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Intel…
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Self-driving-technology company
Mobileye Global
reported a disappointing quarter, and cut full-year financial guidance. The electric-vehicle price war, being led by
Tesla
is the main reason.
Mobileye
stock (ticker: MBLY) is down significantly in Thursday trading, falling more than 23%. The
S&P 500
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Nasdaq Composite
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Meta Platforms Inc.’s stock soared more than 10% higher in extended trading Wednesday after the social networking company’s profit declined less than expected in the first three months of 2023, and a revenue forecast pointed toward reinvigorated sales growth.
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Analysts…
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The…
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Tucker Carlson is leaving Fox News, according to a statement from the network on Monday that sent Fox shares down 4%.
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Carlson’s last program at the…