Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.09, Zacks reports. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Apple’s conference call:

• Apple announced an internal succession plan with Tim Cook becoming Executive Chairman on Sept. 1 and long-time engineering leader John Ternus named CEO, stressing a planned, smooth transition and continuity of strategy.
• Apple delivered a March-quarter record with $111.2 billion revenue (+17% YoY), EPS of $2.01 (+22% YoY), iPhone revenue of $57 billion (+22%), services at a record $31 billion, and an active device install base above 2.5 billion.
• Management flagged supply constraints—primarily availability of advanced-node SOCs—affecting iPhone and more acutely Mac (Mac mini, Mac Studio, MacBook Neo) and warned that rising memory costs will increasingly pressure margins beyond the June quarter.
• The board authorized an additional $100 billion for buybacks and raised the dividend 4% to $0.27, while dropping “net cash neutral” as a formal target and saying Apple will evaluate cash and debt independently going forward.
• Apple is accelerating R&D and investment in “Apple Intelligence” and silicon (A19, M5), positioning iPhone and Mac as on-device AI platforms, citing partnerships (e.g., Google) and upcoming WWDC previews as growth catalysts.

Apple Stock Up 0.4%

AAPL stock opened at $271.35 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $260.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $265.02. The stock has a market cap of $3.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.30, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Apple has a twelve month low of $193.25 and a twelve month high of $288.62.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,485 shares of company stock valued at $24,594,845. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $311,157,662,000 after purchasing an additional 5,005,297 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $164,218,801,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $97,031,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,103 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Apple by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after buying an additional 1,379,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,266,468,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Double-beat on the quarter — Apple reported $111.18B revenue and $2.01 EPS, topping estimates and signaling broad demand (iPhone, Mac, Services). Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Upside guidance — management gave June-quarter (fiscal Q3) revenue growth well above Street expectations (mid-teens vs. low‑teens/low single digits expected), which lifted sentiment. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns — Apple announced a sizable buyback expansion (~$100B added) and a dividend raise, supporting EPS accretion and investor demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: China strength — Greater China revenue jumped sharply (~28% YoY), removing a recent regional overhang and improving the growth outlook. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions are mixed — some firms hiked targets and turned bullish (Monness to $335), while others kept neutral/hold ratings; market now pricing differing upside scenarios. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Memory‑cost and supply warnings — CEO flagged intensifying memory shortages and higher RAM costs that could pressure margins and force price or supplier-strategy changes. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risks — Apple is in an escalating antitrust dispute in India, which could lead to fines or operational constraints in a key market. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Apple from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price target on Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $287.00 target price (up from $280.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $303.49.

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.