Episode summary
Instant Reaction: Apple Shares Gain as Sales Top Estimates | Bloomberg Intelligence
Bloomberg Intelligence
· · 13 min · Hosts: Paul Sweeney · Guests: Jay Goldberg, Mark Gurman
Summary
Apple’s September quarter beat the top line and set off a sharp after-hours rebound even though Greater China was a clear weak spot. The company reported revenue of $102.5 billion, above the $102.2 billion estimate and the first September quarter above $100 billion, while services, Mac and wearables all came in stronger than expected. The iPhone line was mixed: overall iPhone revenue grew 6% year over year, but one presenter said sales were slightly below expectations and China was the main miss.
The discussion centered on whether the China weakness was structural or mostly timing-related. A guest argued the underperformance was tied to the iPhone Air not being available in China yet, and said Apple’s supply chain should help normalize demand into the holiday season. The analyst also said gross margins were better than expected and that the AI story can wait for now, even if Apple still needs to solve it.
The biggest bullish catalyst was management’s outlook. The host and an analyst highlighted comments that December-quarter revenue should grow 10% to 12% year over year, with iPhone revenue growing in double digits, which helped push the stock up as much as roughly 4% in the aftermarket.
Key takeaways
- Apple’s revenue topped estimates at $102.5 billion, and the host said it was the first September quarter above $100 billion.
- Greater China revenue was the main miss, coming in at $14.49 billion and about 12% below consensus.
- A guest said stronger services, better-than-expected gross margins and a good iPhone quarter offset part of the China disappointment.
- Mark Gurman said the iPhone Air delay likely hurt China sales and could create pent-up demand in the holiday quarter.
- Management’s outlook for 10% to 12% revenue growth in the December quarter was the main reason the stock turned higher after hours.
Notable quotes
“Overall revenue though coming in above $100 billion that for the first time ever for the September quarter”
“services is much stronger than I expected. iPhone was good. Uh, iPad was surprisingly good”
“I think that's that's concerning not entirely surprising”
“I think the Air is pretty intriguing. I'm I'm I'm on the fence”
“Apple expects total company revenue to grow 10 to 12% year-over-year in the 3 months to December”
How the episode opens
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Instant reaction and analysis from our 3,000 journalists and analysts around the world.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- apple earnings
- china sales slowdown
- services growth
- semiconductors & electronics analysis
- consumer tech market reaction
Companies and tickers mentioned
- AAPL
- Apple
- Seaport Research Partners
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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