Apple results soundly beat Wall Street targets, $90 billion buyback announced
Stephen Nellis April 28, 2021 9:39 PM BST Technology 4 minutes read
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) on Wednesday posted sales and profits far ahead of Wall Street expectations and announced a $90 billion share buyback as customers continued to upgrade to 5G iPhones and snapped up new Mac models with Apple’s house-designed processor chips.
Sales to China nearly doubled and results topped analyst targets in every category, led by $6.5 billion more in iPhone sales than predicted and Mac sales about a third higher than estimates. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said the company sees an economic recovery coming.
"I think the U.S. will be very strong. Certainly, all indications that I see would be very positive on the U.S. economy," Cook told Reuters in an interview.
The results came the midst of a global semiconductor shortage that has hobbled U.S. automotive manufacturers but that appears to have left Apple, a major chip buyer known for its supply chain expertise, unscathed.
"There wasn't a material issue with our results due to supply," Cook told Reuters.
Apple thrived through the coronavirus pandemic as home-bound consumers stocked up on electronic devices and signed up for paid apps and services for fitness and music, and sales shot up even higher as Apple released 5G iPhone models last fall.
For the fiscal second quarter ended March 27, Apple said sales and profits were $89.6 billion and $1.40 per share, compared with estimates of $77.4 billion and 99 cents per share, according to Refinitiv data.
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