Apple financial results Tuesday marked the end to the gadget giant’s years-long streak of bounding growth, as it reported its first quarter of declining sales since 2003 because of cooling demand for the all-important iPhone.
The company also predicted revenue in the current quarter would drop to a range of $41 billion and $43 billion, lower than the consensus estimate of analysts for $47.321 billion.
Shares fell 5.4 percent to $98.75 in after hours trading on the news.
“Our team executed extremely well in the face of strong macroeconomic headwinds,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.
However, the company bolstered its program to boost shareholder value by $50 billion. It will repurchase $175 billion in shares, up from the $140 billion level it announced last year, and it lifted its quarterly dividend to 57 cents a share.
The company’s “other products” category, which includes sales of Apple TV, Apple Watch and other items, saw revenue climb 30 percent, although its total sales are still a fraction of those for the iPhone.
The company sold 51 million iPhones in the latest quarter, a decline of 16 percent. At about two-thirds the company’s revenue, the iPhone is Apple’s most important product. Its sales, whether strong or weak, are the biggest on the company’s overall financial performance
In the fiscal second quarter ended March 26, Apple reported a profit of $10.516 billion, or $1.90 a share, compared with $13.569 billion, or $2.33 a share, a year earlier. Analysts on average expected earnings of $2 a share.
Revenue fell 13 percent to $50.557 billion. That’s below the consensus estimate for $51.972 billion, although it managed to eke into the guidance range Apple set in January, which had a floor of $50 billion.
