Apple and Facebook delivered their earnings on Wednesday evening, giving the US markets an edge over the previous half of the quarter’s busiest earnings week.
Apple said sales rose 54% during its fiscal second quarter, with double-digit growth in each product category. According to Refinitiv’s data, the company reported a profit of $ 89.6 billion, which was estimated at $ 77.4 billion.
Apple also said it would increase its dividend by 7% and authorize $ 90 billion in share buybacks.
CEO Tim Cook said the company refrained from avoiding microchip shortages, which would affect other companies from burning through the supply chain. But Chief Financial Officer Luca Masri warned that the shortfall could result in a revenue of $ 3 billion to $ 4 billion for the company in the next quarter.
Apple shares were up about 3% in early trading.
“We have seen many quarters in our years covering Apple, although last night’s March quarter we will be an eligible for the record books in Cupertino,” said Dan Ives, managing director of Weinbush Securities.
Facebook, for its part, posted a 48% year-over-year increase in revenue and a $ 9.5 billion increase in profits, a 94% increase from a year earlier. In a conference call with analysts, CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized the company’s emphasis on e-commerce, saying the company has more than 1 billion monthly active users who use the Facebook marketplace.
Facebook shares were trading more than 7% in the premarket.
Other companies have posted strong numbers in the last 48 hours picking up markets. McDonald’s announced on Thursday that its revenue topped pre-pandemic levels as a major signal to accelerate US recovery. And construction equipment maker Caterpillar beat expectations with its earnings on Thursday morning.
The $ 126 billion company shares were up more than 1% on the news that revenue has increased 12% compared to a year ago, a sign that construction activity is picking up.
Investors will be watching for more clues as Amazon and others report earnings on Thursday and Friday to end the busiest week of this quarter’s earnings. Exxon, AT&T, Chevron and more are slated to report earnings on Friday.
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