Apple Inc. on Tuesday posted a record spring-quarter profit as customers keep embracing new iPhones and other devices, while investors look for signs the company’s pandemic-induced success will continue.
The Cupertino, Calif., tech giant earned $21.7 billion in profit for the three-month period that ended in June, the best fiscal third quarter in its 45-year history. On a per share basis, the company earned $1.30, which exceeded analysts’ expectations for $1.01. Revenue rose 36% from a year earlier to $81.4 billion, beating expectations.
Apple is on pace for its best fiscal year ever with a projected profit of $86 billion for the 12-month period ending in September, according to an average forecast of analysts surveyed by FactSet. That would be about 51% better than last year’s record; a year ago, analysts were predicting what now seems like a paltry 11% gain.
Investors came into 2021 expecting big things, thanks to the iPhone 12 lineup and its 5G cellular connectivity. Chief Executive Tim Cook has outdone even lofty expectations, benefiting from two developments: the first iPhone in three years with technological advances perceived by longtime customers as worth a new purchase, and stronger-than-expected demand for laptops and iPad tablets by workers and students stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
Sales from iPhones rose 50% to $39.6 billion during the April-to-June period compared with a year earlier.