Apple earnings T2 2019

Apple announced a lower profit for the March quarter on Tuesday in line with expectations, although its revenue was down compared to the same period last year. However, Apple's forecast for the next quarter was higher than expected by analysts, and announced plans to spend $ 75 billion to buy back its own shares.

The Apple action has risen more than 4% in prolonged trading.

This is how the company compared its expectations to those of Wall Street:

• EPSUSD 2.46 vs. USD 2.36 expected in consensus Refinitiv estimates
• Returned: 58.02 billion USD vs. 57.37 billion USD according to consensual estimates of Refinitiv
• IPhone Q2 business figure: $ 31.05 billion vs. $ 31.03 billion, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates
• Q2 service turnover$ 11.45 billion vs. $ 11.37 billion, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates
• Sales forecast for the third quarter$ 52.5 to $ 54.5 billion, up from $ 51.94 billion according to Refinitiv consensus estimates

Apple's total sales decreased by 5% compared to the same period last year, although this does not seem to matter to investors as the stock is up.

The forecast for Apple's third fiscal quarter was higher than expected, suggesting that the Apple iPhone demand machine is restarting again and service revenue continues to grow. In January, Apple lowered its forecast for the first quarter, accusing weak iPhone sales in China.

The iPhone business figure is also down 17.33% over the previous year. IPhone revenues accounted for 53.5% of Apple's revenue for the quarter, which is lower than it was in the past.

In an interview with CNBC's Josh Lipton, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said Apple's performance in China had improved over the previous quarter and was stronger towards the end of the quarter. Mr. Cook also stated that a reduction in the sales tax had lowered the price of Apple products, which had helped him. Mr Cook said the US-China trade relations have also improved.

"I think the business relationship – I'm not talking about the tariff, but the tone – is much better today than it was between November and December. This positively affects the trust consumers, "Cook said.

Apple said it has achieved a $ 10.22 billion business figure in its Greater China category, which also includes Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Apple also announced a $ 75 billion spending on share buybacks and also approved a dividend of 75 cents per share, up 5%. Apple announced that it would spend $ 100 billion during this period last year. Cook said Apple had returned $ 27.5 billion to shareholders last quarter.

Apple recently told investors that iPhone sales were not a critical figure to watch. Instead, Apple is highlighting its service revenues, which include products such as iCloud, Apple Music, AppleCare warranties, and so on. Apple recorded a service revenue of $ 11.45 billion, up 16% over the same period last year.

Apple does not provide a new installed base figure since its last update of 1.4 billion devices, but Cook said he had broken an all-time record last quarter in all categories.

Apple's individual product lines are still essential for the company. Recently, he highlighted the strength of his Wearables business, which includes Apple Watch, AirPods and other headsets, with a 30% year-over-year increase.

Here's how the product lines break down:

• iPhone: $ 31.05 billion versus $ 31.10 billion forecast
• iPad: $ 4.87 billion against $ 4.21 billion forecast
• Mac: $ 5.5 billion against $ 5.85 billion
• wearables: $ 5.1 billion against $ 4.79 billion forecast

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