ii view: Apple confident about future sales
Underperforming AI software rival Alphabet year-to-date but with a new chief executive recently announced. We assess prospects.
1st May 2026 15:35
by Keith Bowman from interactive investor
The Apple logo on a computer screen. Photo: Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto via Getty Images.
Second-quarter results to 28 March
- Revenue up 17% to $111.2 billion (£82.1 billion)
- Adjusted earnings up 22% to $2.01 per share
- Dividend of $0.27 per share, up 4% from Q1
- New $100 billion share buyback programme
Chief Executive Tim Cook commented:
“iPhone achieved a March quarter revenue record, fuelled by such extraordinary demand for the iPhone 17 line-up. During the quarter, Services achieved yet another all-time record, and we were excited to introduce remarkable new products to our strongest line-up ever.”
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ii round-up:
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) offered a sales estimate for the current quarter that exceeded analyst hopes, with the Magnificent Seven company recently announcing the succession of CEO Tim Cook.
Second-quarter revenue to late March was up 17% from a year ago to $111.2 billion (£82.1 billion), pushing earnings up 22% to $2.01 per share. Continuing robust demand for the iPhone 17 and Mac PC are expected by Apple to boost third-quarter sales by as much as 17%. Wall Street had been forecasting growth nearer 10%.
iPhone sales during the quarter rose 21% from a year ago to $57 billion. Mac PC sales climbed almost 6% to $8.4 billion.
Revenues for Apple’s services such as music and data storage hit another all-time record of $30.9 billion.
Shares in the Nasdaq and Dow Jones tech titan rose 3% having come into these latest numbers little changed so far in 2026. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq indexes are up by 3% and 7% respectively year-to-date. Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL), which owns the Android smartphone software system, is up by close to a quarter during that time.
Just days ago, Apple confirmed John Ternus, current head of hardware engineering, as the group’s new CEO from early September.
Geographically, sales rose across all regions including a 28% gain for the previously troubled Greater China region. A quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share is up 4% from the prior first quarter.
A new $100 billion share buyback programme was also announced. Third-quarter results are likely to be released late July or early August.
ii view:
Coming to the stock market in 1980, Apple today employs around 160,000 people. Rivals for its devices and services include Samsung, Meta Platforms Inc Class A (NASDAQ:META), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) owned Prime TV, Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:SPOT), Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX), and The Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS). Geographically, the US dominates at 37% of last year’s sales. Europe came next at 27%, then Greater China at 16%, the rest of Asia 8%, Japan 7%, and the Americas 5%.
For investors, soaring demand for computer chips to service AI requirements now raises concerns about high chip prices and Apple costs. Soaring energy prices may pressure manufacturing costs and squeeze customer incomes. A forecast price/earnings (PE) ratio above the 10-year average may suggest the shares are not obviously cheap, global trade tensions, particularly between Apple’s key markets of the US and China, persist.
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More favourably, the tie-in of customers using its services on their Apple devices generates high customer loyalty. A new CEO will likely see a rejuvenation of strategy, with the new head’s existing position as hardware engineer potentially placing an added emphasis on device innovation. Product and geographical diversity exist, including exposure to payment services, while the dividend, although not a core attraction, has been increased consecutively for more than the last 10 years putting the shares on a yield of around 0.4%.
In all, and despite continuing risks, this global consumer brand looks to remain worthy of its place in many already diversified investor portfolios.
Positives:
- Diverse geographical markets
- Strong customer loyalty
Negatives:
- Dependency on iPhone sales
- Currency headwinds
The average rating of stock market analysts:
Buy
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