Apple announced its financial results for its fiscal second quarter of 2015 this afternoon, and the numbers are impressive. The company sold 61.2 million iPhones and earned $58 billion in revenue, breaking March quarter records and beating Wall Street expectations.
We just finished up the conference call, where Tim Cook and other executives team discussed Apple’s performance over the three-month period, and offered up some insights into its future. And as usual, we’ve rounded up the 15 most interesting points from the call below.
- Strongest March quarter ever
- 27 acquisitions in last 6 quarters
- “Expanding capital return program to $200 billion through March of 2017 to reflect strong confidence in what lies ahead for Apple.”
- Dividends increased from $0.47 to $0.52 per share, up 11%, effective next dividend
- 1,000 apps have adopted HealthKit
- 3,500 Apple Watch apps
- iPad set sales records in Japan and China, performance more muted in other markets
- iPhone sales more than doubled in Korea, Singapore and Vietnam, overall growth up 73% in China
- Current estimate is that about 20% of active installed base has upgraded to 6 or 6 Plus
- Tim Cook: “By some time in late June we currently anticipate we could begin selling the Apple Watch in additional countries.”
- Cook: “Apple Watch demand is greater than supply, but we’re working hard to remedy that.”
- Apple Watch margins (profit after expenses) are lower than average due to new technologies
- Traffic to retail and online stores, up 22% YoY increase in customer visits
- Online store will also be expanding from 319 cities for two day delivery to 365 cities, 50 new cities by end of this quarter
- Asked about HBO/Apple TV partnership, Cook said: “it’s clear from looking at the early returns, there’s a lot of traction in there.”
Overall it was a great quarter for Apple, and investors agree. Shares of the company’s stock reached an all-time high of $135.62 in after-hours trading, although it has settled back down around $134. If you want to listen to the call, a replay will be available for a limited time.