The post Apple again closes in on $3 trillion market valuation appeared first on MacDailyNews. On Monday, January 3, 2022, Apple became the first company in world history to hit the $3 trillion market valuation milestone, but it quickly fell back from that mark. Now, after a solid run in 2023, AAPL is again approaching the $3 trillion mark.

Angela Palumbo for Barron’s:

Apple is on track to become the first company with a $3 trillion valuation, but the journey there won’t be easy.

MacDailyNews Take: As stated above, Apple already became the first company with a $3 trillion valuation on January 3, 2022.

Apple stock has surged 42% this year and the company has a market capitalization of $2.89 trillion. The shares would have to close above $190.73 each to hit the record $3 trillion market cap, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

MacDailyNews Take: That’s (incorrectly) assuming there will be no buybacks which, of course are routinely ongoing as part of Apple’s massive share repurchasing program. So, with (share price) * (outstanding shares) = (market value), the price will have to exceed $190.73 by some measure to account for the amount of shares Apple repurchases and retires.

Moving ahead, there are several catalysts that can help drive Apple shares higher and push the market cap to $3 trillion.

In a research note on June 7, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives—who rates the stock Outperform with a $220 price target—said he believes about 250 million iPhones haven’t been upgraded in more than four years, which “sets Apple up for a major installed-base upgrade cycle heading into this anniversary 15-year release.” The iPhone is the largest revenue driver for Apple, and successful sales of the smartphone would keep investors confident in the tech giant’s performance…

Apple is also trading at 28.6 times forward earnings, which is above its historic average of 22.7 times.

MacDailyNews Take: Apple hitting the $3 trillion and beyond, well beyond, is just a matter of time.

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The post Apple’s iPhone strength in reopening China drove stock performance – analyst appeared first on MacDailyNews. Tom Forte, DA Davidson managing director and senior research analyst, joins CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” to discuss the most important reason for Forte’s Apple upgrade, iPhone strength in reopening China, if iPhone will continue taking share from Android, and much more.

Apple last week announced financial results for its fiscal 2023 second quarter ended April 1, 2023. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $94.8 billion, down 3 percent year over year, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $1.52, unchanged year over year.

“We are pleased to report an all-time record in Services and a March quarter record for iPhone despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, and to have our installed base of active devices reach an all-time high,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a statement. “We continue to invest for the long term and lead with our values, including making major progress toward building carbon neutral products and supply chains by 2030.”

“Our year-over-year business performance improved compared to the December quarter, and we generated strong operating cash flow of $28.6 billion while returning over $23 billion to shareholders during the quarter,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO, in a statement. “Given our confidence in Apple’s future and the value we see in our stock, our Board has authorized an additional $90 billion for share repurchases. We are also raising our quarterly dividend for the eleventh year in a row.”

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The post Apple plans new $5 billion U.S. debt offering appeared first on MacDailyNews. Apple selling debt in the U.S. blue-chip bond market Monday ahead of key U.S. inflation readings due to be released later this week.

Olivia Raimonde and Dayana Mustak for Bloomberg News:

The $5 billion deal is expected to come in as many as five parts, according to a person familiar with the matter. The longest portion, a 30-year bond, could yield 135 basis points over comparable Treasuries, the person said.

The sale will be the first for Apple since it sold $5.5 billion to fund buybacks and dividends in August.

As many as 15 borrowers could emerge to sell debt Monday, looking to lock in funding before the release of consumer price index and producer price index data slated to come Wednesday and Thursday.

Proceeds from Apple’s sale will be used for general corporate purposes. That could include stock repurchases, dividend payments, working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions and repayment of debt, the person said.

MacDailyNews Take: Theses Apple “iBonds” will be sold out immediately.

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The post Apple stock rises as iPhone sales, Services growth drive March-quarter beat appeared first on MacDailyNews. Apple stock rose in pre-market trading on Friday after the world’s most valuable company beat Wall Street’s targets for its fiscal second quarter on strong sales in iPhones and services.

Patrick Seitz for Barron’s:

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company late Thursday said it earned $1.52 a share on sales of $94.8 billion for the quarter ended April 1. Analysts polled by FactSet had predicted Apple earnings of $1.43 a share on sales of $92.9 billion.

“We are pleased to report an all-time record in services and a March-quarter record for iPhone despite the challenging macroeconomic environment,” Chief Executive Tim Cook said in a news release.

Also, Apple increased its quarterly dividend by 4% to 24 cents a share. Plus, Apple’s board authorized an additional $90 billion for share repurchases.

Apple’s services revenue increased 5% year over year to $20.9 billion in the March quarter… In the March quarter, Apple’s iPhone revenue increased 2% to $51.3 billion. Smartphones accounted for 54% of the company’s total sales in the period.

MacDailyNews Take: Apple stock is currently trading up $4.26 (2.58%) at $170.05.

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The post Apple stock rises as iPhone sales, Services growth drive March-quarter beat appeared first on MacDailyNews.

"We are pleased to report an all-time record in Services and a March quarter record for iPhone despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, and to have our installed base of active devices reach an all-time high," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "We continue to invest for the long term and lead with our values, including making major progress toward building carbon neutral products and supply chains by 2030."

The post Apple beats Street with second quarter results appeared first on MacDailyNews. Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2023 second quarter ended April 1, 2023. The company posted quarterly revenue of $94.8 billion, down 3 percent year over year, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $1.52, unchanged year over year.

“We are pleased to report an all-time record in Services and a March quarter record for iPhone despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, and to have our installed base of active devices reach an all-time high,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a statement. “We continue to invest for the long term and lead with our values, including making major progress toward building carbon neutral products and supply chains by 2030.”

“Our year-over-year business performance improved compared to the December quarter, and we generated strong operating cash flow of $28.6 billion while returning over $23 billion to shareholders during the quarter,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO, in a statement. “Given our confidence in Apple’s future and the value we see in our stock, our Board has authorized an additional $90 billion for share repurchases. We are also raising our quarterly dividend for the eleventh year in a row.”

Net sales by category

• iPhone: $51.334 billion (vs. $50.570 billion YoY)
• Services: $20.907 billion (vs. $19.821 billion YoY)
• Wearables, Home and Accessories: $8.757 billion (vs. $8.806 billion YoY)
• Mac: $7.168 billion (vs. $10.435 billion YoY)
• iPad: $6.670 (vs. $ 7.646 billion YoY)

Apple will provide live streaming of its Q2 2023 financial results conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. PT on May 4, 2023 at apple.com/investor/earnings-call. The webcast will be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter.

Prior to Apple’s earnings report, the analysts’ consensus EPS estimate, according to Refinitiv, stood at: $1.43 EPS (vs. $1.52 actual) on revenue of $92.96 billion (vs. $94.8 billion actual). iPhone revenue was projected at $48.66 billion, Services at $21.0 billion, Wearables, Home and Accessories at $8.3 billion, Mac revenue at $7.8 billion, iPad revenue at $6.7 billion, according to FactSet.

Apple’s board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.24 per share of the company’s common stock, an increase of 4 percent. The dividend is payable on May 18, 2023 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 15, 2023. The board of directors has also authorized an additional program to repurchase up to $90 billion of the Company’s common stock.

MacDailyNews Take: Crystal ball check:

We predict $90 billion in buybacks and a $0.24 per share dividend. – MacDailyNews, April 17, 2023

MacDailyNews Note: We will be covering Apple’s conference call with live note beginning at 2:00 p.m. PT / 5:00 p.m. ET. (see article link on our home page).

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The post What Wall St. expects from Apple’s earnings after market close appeared first on MacDailyNews. For its fiscal second quarter, Apple is expected to report $1.43 in earnings per share on $92.97 billion in sales, a 4.4% decline year over year, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates.

Kif Leswing for CNBC:

When Apple reports quarterly earnings on Thursday, the results are expected to be somewhat muted — the company already guided investors to a 5% revenue decline due largely to decreases in Mac and iPad sales.

But Apple will still remind investors of its mammoth size and market power, as the company uses its fiscal second-quarter report to tell investors how much the board has authorized it to spend on share buybacks and dividends.

Wall Street expects that number to come in at $90 billion, equal to last year’s authorization figure, based on a compilation of analyst reports.

The iPhone maker has been the buyback king over the past decade. From 2012 through the end of 2022, Apple spent over $572 billion on share repurchases, the most of any company, according to FactSet data. Since 2013, Apple has announced board authorization levels in its second-quarter earnings report.

Analysts on average expect Apple’s revenue in the third quarter to increase about 2% to $84.7 billion, according to Refinitiv.

Samik Chatterjee, an analyst at JPMorgan, said even if the outlook is soft, Apple might benefit from “flight to safety” positioning.

MacDailyNews Take: Apple shareholders: May the 4th be with you!

We predict $90 billion in buybacks and a $0.24 per share dividend. – MacDailyNews, April 17, 2023

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