Apple shares soar after beating Wall Street estimates
Apple hit an all-time high of $327.25 per share in morning trading after strong iPhone sales drove record revenues.
The technology giant surpassed Wall Street’s estimates last night, reporting a nine per cent increase in revenue to $91.8bn while the consensus estimate was $88.5bn. It also marked a record profit of $22.2bn.
Apple reported earnings of $4.99 per share for the three months to the end of December, above estimates of $4.55 per share.
Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA Europe, said: “Apple knocked it out of the park on Tuesday with a record quarter, beating on revenue and earnings while raising the bar for the coming quarters”.
However the range of Apple’s guidance had widened compared to previous quarters, which chief executive Tim Cook said was down to the unpredictable nature of the coronavirus. “There’s more uncertainty, it’s a very fluid situation,” he told CNBC.
Shares in Apple have rallied more than 100 per cent in the past 12 months.
Erlam said: “The question now is whether the other big tech firms can raise their game as well and give investors more reason to be cheerful.”
US stocks have rebounded somewhat after coronavirus fears hit the market this week. At 5pm, the Dow Jones was up 0.44 per cent, while Nasdaq and S&P 500 both rose 0.31 per cent.
Shares of stocks that have been hit particularly badly by coronavirus continue to bounce back. Las Vegas Sands and MGM Resorts rose 1.8 per cent and 2 per cent in pre-market trading.
However Starbucks is down 2.65 per cent after its warning that the virus outbreak could “materially effect” its results.
Today the US government began evacuating US citizens from Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak. The 201 passengers underwent medial screening and will be “temporarily housed for a period of time.”