Apple beats revenue estimates, but growth slows and China remains a weak point
Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue was above Wall Street consensus, but growth slowed and sales in China remained below expectations.
BY THE X-TRADER NEWS NEWSROOM · REPORTING FROM INFOMONEY · 2 MIN
Apple narrowly exceeded Wall Street's expectations when releasing results for the fourth fiscal quarter, ended September 26. According to InfoMoney, revenue totaled US$114.5 billion, up 12%, slightly above market estimates.
The Bloomberg consensus, the average of analyst projections, pointed to US$113.5 billion. The difference of around US$1 billion is small, but the market tends to observe margins like this carefully in the balance sheets of large companies.
The statement was released on Monday and marks the company's first balance sheet under CEO John Ternus, making the result the first public reading of the new management.
The pace of growth, however, lost strength. Revenue grew 16% in the June quarter and 12% in the September quarter. According to InfoMoney, the iPhone, the main source of revenue, remained strong, while iPad and wearable devices performed weaker.
China appeared as the weak point of the period. Sales in the country were below what analysts expected, according to the same source, which keeps the region on the radar of those who follow the company.
What is at stake is the sustainability of growth. A strong iPhone supports the most relevant part of revenue, but the combination of slowdown, weakness in other lines and lower performance in China requires the investor to separate the specific result from the trend.
What changes for the investor
For those who follow the Nasdaq and technology stocks, the balance sheet shows a company that still beats consensus at the top of revenue, but with slower growth and dependence on one main product. The possible effect on the market will depend on how the company treats the slowdown and China in upcoming releases. It is worth monitoring three points: the pace of growth quarter by quarter, the performance of iPad and wearables and the evolution of Chinese sales. This article does not provide a purchase or sale recommendation or price projections.
Automatically translated from Portuguese.
