Apple yesterday after market close announced financial results for its fiscal 2020 first quarter ended December 28, 2019. The company posted quarterly revenue of $91.8 billion, an increase of 9 percent from the year-ago quarter and an all-time record, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $4.99, up 19 percent, also an all-time record. International sales accounted for 61 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, who rates AAPL an outperform with a $400 price target, write in a note to clients that Apple’s results were a “blow out print” that will “put more high octane fuel in the bull thesis,” as iPhone 11/Pro/Pro Max strength continues worldwide, with China as the “clear star of the show.”
Apple shares rose 2.24% in pre-market trading and are poised to open at a record high.
Kit Rees and Joe Easton for Bloomberg News:
Apple’s first-quarter results spurred optimism among analysts that demand for the tech giant’s iPhones will endure, especially as the company is said to be preparing to launch a new low-cost model and a 5G-enabled device later this year.
Analysts were particularly positive on growth in China, as well as the outlook for the second quarter… The shares rose 2.2% in the U.S. pre-market and are poised to open at a record high.
MacDailyNews Take: Onward and upward, Cupertino soldiers! Since Apple’s earnings release, RBC and Cohen have raised their AAPL price targets to $358 from $330 and to $370 from $350, respectively.