Apple yesterday announced financial results for its fiscal 2015 second quarter, posting quarterly revenue of $58 billion and a second-quarter net profit of $13.6 billion. This is in keeping with observations that I reported on earlier that Apple is in a growth spurt. Apple shares were up 1.82% at market close yesterday.
“We are thrilled by the continued strength of iPhone, Mac, and the App Store, which drove our best March quarter results ever,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re seeing a higher rate of people switching to iPhone than we’ve experienced in previous cycles, and we’re off to an exciting start to the June quarter with the launch of Apple Watch.”
Daisuke Wakabayashi in the Wall Street Journal writes that Apple is gaining market share while commanding higher prices. He notes that Apple sold 40% more iPhones in the second quarter and at a $60 per unit higher price than in its second quarter last year. One downside for the company, however, is that iPads are getting squeezed by larger-screen smartphones and ever-more-compact laptops. Will Oremus at Slate has more here.
Apple provided the following guidance for its fiscal 2015 third quarter:
- revenue between $46 billion and $48 billion,
- gross margin between 38.5% and 39.5%,
- operating expenses between $5.65 billion and $5.75 billion,
- other income/(expense) of $350 million, and
- tax rate of 26.3%.
Update, 4/29: In related news, the Wall Street Journal reports that Sony is capitalizing on the iPhone’s success. Each iPhone 6 generates as much as $20 in revenue for Sony for Sony-made image sensors and related parts.
