By Emmanuel Ogbodo
Apple has surpassed market expectations with its fiscal 2024 third-quarter earnings, reporting $85.8 billion in revenue, marking a 5% increase year-on-year, despite a drop in iPhone sales.
This impressive performance comes as anticipation builds for Apple’s next-generation iPhone, which will feature advanced artificial intelligence capabilities.
The company reported quarterly earnings of $1.40 per diluted share, an 11% increase from the previous year, resulting in a net income of $21.5 billion. These results exceeded analyst forecasts, which had predicted earnings of $1.34 per share and $20.7 billion in net income.
The revenue of $85.8 billion also beat expectations, partly due to iPhone sales of $39.3 billion, slightly above projections despite being the lowest since September 2021.
“During the quarter, our record business performance generated EPS growth of 11 percent and nearly $29 billion in operating cash flow, allowing us to return over $32 billion to shareholders,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO). “We are also very pleased that our installed base of active devices reached a new all-time high in all geographic segments, thanks to very high levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty.”
Apple’s board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.25 per share of the company’s common stock, payable on August 15, 2024, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 12, 2024.
Although Apple’s iPhone revenue exceeded expectations, it remains at its lowest point since the quarter ending September 2021, reflecting a 1% decline from the same period in 2023. Analysts expect a resurgence in iPhone sales later this year with the release of the iPhone 16, featuring a generative artificial intelligence operating system exclusive to newer models. Consensus estimates suggest iPhone sales could reach a record $73 billion during the 2024 holiday quarter.
