Apple’s growth slows but still beats investors’ expectations

Apple seems to keep weathering the pandemic storm by posting a 9 percent revenue growth for the first quarter beating investors’ expectations.

The company posted a March-quarter revenue record of US$97.3 billion and quarterly earnings per diluted share of US$1.52.

Apple bucked a trend of tech giants reporting losses such as Alphabet and Meta however, it will not be smooth sailing for the rest of the year according to CEO Tim Cook.

Cook also warned investors that the growing numbers of covid cases in China will more than likely impact production. Supply chain issues will also slash sales between US$4 billion to $8 billion.

He said, “This quarter’s record results are a testament to Apple’s relentless focus on innovation and our ability to create the best products and services in the world.

“We are delighted to see the strong customer response to our new products, as well as the progress we’re making to become carbon-neutral across our supply chain and our products by 2030. We are committed, as ever, to being a force for good in the world — both in what we create and what we leave behind.”

Luca Maestri, CFO at Apple said, “We are very pleased with our record business results for the March quarter, as we set an all-time revenue record for Services and March-quarter revenue records for iPhone, Mac, and Wearables, Home and Accessories.

“Continued strong customer demand for our products helped us achieve an all-time high for our installed base of active devices. Our strong operating performance generated over US$28 billion in operating cash flow, and allowed us to return nearly US$27 billion to our shareholders during the quarter.”