Apple Profit Rises, IPhone Sales Misses; Outlook Below Expectations

(RTTNews) - Tech giant Apple Inc. (AAPL) once again announced a record quarterly profit on Tuesday. The company's first-quarter results beat Wall Street analysts' expectations, thanks to higher revenue and improved margins. However, revenues and iPhone shipments for the the quarter fell short of estimates.

Apple's first-quarter profit rose to $18.36 billion or $3.28 per share from $18.02 billion or $3.06 per share last year. Analysts had expected the company to earn $3.23 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters.

Apple said its revenue rose to $75.87 billion from last year's $74.60 billion. Analysts had predicted revenues of $76.59 billion.

The smartphone pioneer said it sold 74.78 million iPhone units during the quarter, generating $51.64 billion in revenues. This compares to sales of 74.47 million units and revenues of $74.47 billion last year. Wall Street had expected iPhone shipments for the quarter of 75.46 million and revenues from its sales of $51.41 billion.

This is the slowest sales growth of iPhone since its launch in 2007. Cupertino, California-based Apple has entered the wearables market, improved its Mac lineups and launched a new music-streaming service. Still, its bottom line continues to be focused on iPhone sales, as it contributes about two-thirds of Apple's revenues and major part of its profit.

The sluggish economy in China, Apple's second-biggest market behind the U.S., affected iPhone's sales. According to market researcher Gartner, although global shipments of mobile phones will rise 2.6 percent this year, overall spending will decline.

Looking ahead, the company projected revenues for the second quarter of between $50 billion and $53 billion. It's gross margin is projected to be between 39 percent and 39.5 percent. Analysts currently estimate revenues of $55.64 billion for the quarter.

AAPL closed Tuesday's trading at $99.99, up $0.55 or 0.55%, on the Nasdaq. The stock, however, dropped $0.96 or 0.96% in the after-hours trade.