Apple CEO Tim Cook holds his iPhone during a Q&A with members of the Trinity College Dublin Philosophical Society, after he received the Gold Medal of Honorary Patronage. Image: Laura Hutton/Shutterstock
Robust demand for iPhone 7 delivers a rosy $52bn second quarter for Apple.
Apple has reported Q2 revenues of $52bn, driven by strong demand for the company’s flagship iPhone 7 smartphone.
This is up from $50.5bn this time last year.
Apple reported profits of $11bn for the quarter, up from $10.5bn last year.
‘We’ve seen great customer response to both models of the new iPhone 7 (Product) Red special edition and we’re thrilled with the strong momentum of our Services business, with our highest revenue ever for a 13-week quarter’
– TIM COOK
During the second quarter, Apple said it sold 50,763 units of iPhone devices, yielding $33.2bn in revenue for the company.
This compares with 51,193 units sold last year and revenues of $32.5bn in the second quarter of 2016.
iPad sales for Q2 2017 amounted to 8,922 and revenues of $3.8bn, compared with 10,251 units sold last year, garnering $4.4bn.
Mac sales amounted to 4,199 units and $5.8bn in sales, an increase from 4,034 units sold last year, which yielded $4.4bn in revenues.
Services, including Apple Music and iCloud, brought in $7bn while Other Products, including the Apple Watch, garnered revenues of $2.8bn.
Apple to return $300bn to shareholders by 2019
“We are proud to report a strong March quarter, with revenue growth accelerating from the December quarter and continued robust demand for iPhone 7 Plus,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.
“We’ve seen great customer response to both models of the new iPhone 7 (Product) Red special edition and we’re thrilled with the strong momentum of our Services business, with our highest revenue ever for a 13-week quarter. Looking ahead, we are excited to welcome attendees from around the world to our annual Worldwide Developers Conference next month in San Jose.”
Apple’s board of directors has approved an increase of $50bn to the company’s return of capital to shareholders and is extending the programme by four quarters.
Under the expanded programme, Apple plans to return $300bn to shareholders by the end of March 2019.
As part of the latest update to the programme, the board has increased its share repurchase authorisation to $210bn from the $175bn level announced a year ago.
“We generated strong operating cash flow of $12.5bn and returned over $10bn to our investors in the March quarter,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO.
“Given the strength of our business and our confidence in our future, we are happy to announce another $50bn increase to our capital return programme today.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook. Image: Laura Hutton/Shutterstock
