Apple (AAPL-0.34%) met Wall Street’s expectations with fiscal first-quarter earnings driven by the holiday season.
The iPhone maker reported revenues of $124.3 billion for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 — a 4% increase year over year. Apple reported earnings per share of $2.41, and net income of $36.3 billion.
“Today Apple is reporting our best quarter ever, with revenue of $124.3 billion, up 4 percent from a year ago,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook said in a statement. “We were thrilled to bring customers our best-ever lineup of products and services during the holiday season. Through the power of Apple silicon, we’re unlocking new possibilities for our users with Apple Intelligence, which makes apps and experiences even better and more personal.”
The company was expected to report revenues of $124.3 billion for the fiscal first quarter, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by FactSet (FDS+1.64%). Apple was also expected to report earnings of $2.35 per share for the quarter ended in December, and net income of $35.6 billion.
Despite being the company’s “best quarter ever,” Apple missed iPhone revenue expectations. The tech giant reported $69.1 billion in net sales for the iPhone, while analysts had expected $70.7 billion, according to FactSet.
The company’s shares were down 0.74% at the market close on Thursday, and are down by 5.1% so far this year.
Earlier this month, Jefferies (JEF+2.06%) analysts downgraded Apple’s rating to “Underperform,” citing expectations of a miss for both fiscal first-quarter results and guidance. Apple’s iPhone 17 and 18 sales are expected to “be weak,” Jefferies said, “because there are limited hardware upgrades to drive adoption.”
The company rolled out its artificial intelligence features, Apple Intelligence, in October, which “has yet to gain traction with consumers,” Jefferies analysts said.
Following Asia supply chain checks, Jefferies said it is “cautious” over demand for Apple’s rumored iPhone SE 4, which it said is likely to launch toward the end of March. The rumored smartphone — part of the SE series of smaller iPhones — is expected to use an A18 chip that is also found in the iPhone 16, a full-screen OLED display, and have Apple Intelligence capabilities.
Meanwhile, shipments of the iPhone were also down by 4% year over year in the first quarter, Jefferies noted, citing data from the International Data Corporation. The firm has cut its iPhone shipment growth expectations.
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