Consumer electronics giant Apple (AAPL) has delivered strong first-quarter financial results that surpassed Wall Street’s expectations but warned of growing uncertainty caused by trade tariffs.
The Silicon Valley-based company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.65 U.S., which came in ahead of the $1.63 U.S. consensus estimate of analysts.
Revenue in the January through March period totaled $95.40 billion U.S., which topped the $94.66 billion U.S. that had been expected on Wall Street.
The all-important iPhone segment posted sales in the quarter of $46.84 billion U.S., which beat the $45.84 billion U.S. that had been anticipated.
Mac computer revenue of $7.95 billion U.S. was better than the $7.77 billion U.S. that analysts had penciled in for the company. And iPad revenue of $6.40 billion U.S. beat the $6.20 billion U.S. that analysts had expected.
While most of Apple’s business segments were positive, the company’s wearables, home, and accessories category posted revenue of $7.52 billion U.S., which was below the $7.95 billion U.S. expected.
Also, the key “services” segment that includes Apple TV+ and the company’s app store had revenue of $26.65 billion U.S., which fell short of the $26.70 billion U.S. that was forecast.
The company’s gross margin of 47.1% matched Wall Street’s expectations.
In terms of forward guidance, Apple Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook provided his first comments on the impact of tariffs to the company’s business.
Cook said that Apple saw “limited impact” from tariffs in the first quarter because it was able to adjust and optimize its supply chain.
Going forward, Apple expects overall revenue to grow “low to mid-single digits” on an annual basis during the current second quarter that ends on June 30.
The company also expects a gross margin of 46%, taking into account tariff costs. Analysts were looking for guidance of $1.48 U.S. in earnings per share on $89.45 billion U.S. of revenue.
Apple executives added that they expect tariffs to add $900 million U.S. to its costs for the current quarter, assuming no new tariffs or major changes occur.
Cook said Apple’s board of directors authorized up to $100 billion U.S. in share repurchases for the current second quarter, down from $110 billion U.S. last year.
Apple also said it would pay a quarterly dividend of $0.26 U.S. per share, a 4% increase.
The stock of Apple has declined 13% this year to trade at $213.32 U.S. per share.