,"Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares were up 3.2% in premarket trading after the tech giant posted quarterly earnings that beat analysts' expectations."
Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares were up 3.2% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the tech giant posted quarterly earnings that beat analysts' expectations. The Cupertino-based company reported its earnings for Q1 2023 and it was one of the company's poorest-performing quarters in recent years. However, the results were still better than expected.
Overall, Apple reported $7.5 billion in revenue for Q1 2023, down 5% from the same quarter last year. This marks the first year-over-year sales decline since 2019. However, Apple’s net income of $9.5 billion was up from the same quarter last year, and its gross margin of 38.7% was the highest since the company began reporting the figure.
For those investing in Apple, the company's quarterly earnings report is an important data point. Owning Apple here still makes good sense, argues one money manager, given the company's long-term prospects and its ability to innovate and create new products.
Apple also continues to benefit from its strong presence in China. As the company looks beyond China to secure crucial supply chains strained by Covid lockdowns and threatened by rising geopolitical tension, Apple is well-positioned to capitalize on new opportunities.
In addition, the company has seen increased investment in artificial intelligence (AI). Unveiling new AI-powered tools in Bing, Microsoft hopes to steal market share from Mountain View. Google has long benefited from a costly AI research. Meanwhile, Apple has remained largely silent about its own AI efforts, but the company is believed to be investing heavily in the technology.
There are more ways to invest in the adoption of AI than high-flying tech stocks. Apple's success in the AI sector will be determined by its ability to make the technology accessible to a mass market.
In this podcast, Motley Fool senior analysts Ron Gross and Jason Moser discuss: Another interest rate hike and a surprising jobs report. The analysts discuss the impact of the Fed's rate hike on the tech sector and how Apple has been affected. They also discuss the implications of the jobs report and how it could affect Apple's earnings.
Overall, Apple's Q1 saw revenue decline, but there were good signs in the earnings report too. Apple's overall sales for the holiday quarter were about 5% lower than last year's, but the company still beat analyst expectations.
