Apple stock subdued after reporting earnings beat alongside iPhone constraints

Apple (AAPL) stock gave up less than 1% afterhours after reporting a slight beat on the top and bottom lines but admitting that iPhone sales were constrained by a shortage of "advanced node chips".

The company long helmed by CEO Tim Cook, who has announced his departure on September 1, reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.01 in the first quarter, $0.07 better than consensus.

Revenue of $111.2 billion also beat the Wall Street analyst average by $1.6 billion.

Market digests Q1 Apple earnings result

While not all consensus estimates agree, the Institutional Brokers Estimate System projected iPhone sales of $57.2 billion, while Apple fell slightly short at just under $57 billion in the quarter.

In an interview with Reuters, Cook said that the supply of "advanced processor nodes" was constrained in the quarter, adding that “there’s just a little less flexibility in the supply chain at the moment”. Most of these chips are produced by Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC), which is the primary producer of AI-related chips that are facing strong demand. Additionally, Apple faces a memory chip market also marked by supply constraints, owing to the AI data center buildout.

Separately, Apple said that demand for iPhones was off the chart as revenue from Greater China came in $1.6 billion above consensus at $20.5 billion.

Still, iPhone revenue rose nearly 22% YoY, far outstripping other categories. Services revenue rose 16% YoY. Revenue from Mac computers rose 6% YoY, while Wearables revenue gained 5% in that time period. iPad revenue rose about 8% from a year earlier.

“iPhone achieved a March quarter revenue record, fueled by such extraordinary demand for the iPhone 17 lineup," Cook said in a statement. "During the quarter, Services achieved yet another all-time record, and we were excited to introduce remarkable new products to our strongest lineup ever. That included the addition of the iPhone 17e and the M4-powered iPad Air, along with the launch of MacBook Neo.”

Apple raised its dividend by 4% to $0.27 per quarter, and the board approved a new $100 billion share buyback plan.

Apple stock fails to react after earnings result

Compared with the other Magnificent 7 stocks reporting this week, the market conferred a notable lack of movement on the stock. Alphabet (GOOGL) stock gained 10% on Thursday, a day after its release. Meta Platforms (META), on the other hand, sank 8.6% in a near mirror image.

On the four-hour chart, Apple stock has used the 50 Simple Moving Average (SMA) near $269 as support. A break of that moving average on Friday, however, could lead bears to push for a drawback to the 200 SMA, which sits just below $261.

For bulls to retake control, AAPL requires a weekly close above the descending upper trendline that exists above $272.