Apple shares hit all-time high as sales keep soaring

Apple has just published its financial results for Q3 2017. But everyone’s thoughts – even Tim Cook’s – seem to be focused on the fall.

First and foremost, Apple has initially reported that their investors and everyone else can expect a revenue growth of around the figures of $43.5 billion and $45.5 billion this quarter. This number was expected to be closely-examined by analysts, who speculated ahead of earnings that supply chain delays for Apple’s yet-to-be-announced iPhone 8 could weigh on guidance and delay shipments of the device until October.

Apple forecast revenue for the current quarter, ending in September, of $49 billion to $52 billion, exceeding the $49 billion that analysts were expecting.

iPhone sales rose a modest 1.5 percent to slightly above 41 million units with Mac sales up 0.9 percent to around 4.3 million.

For fiscal Q4, Apple forecast revenues of United States dollars 49-52 billion, up from USD 46.85 billion a year earlier. They further excited analysts by projecting a monster fourth quarter to close out fiscal 2017 – estimating up to $52bn – as it will release its next iPhone and ride a flurry of back-to-school sales in the coming months.

Apple continues to struggle in China, which was its only shrinking market last quarter.

Earnings per share for the iPhone maker hit $1.67 in its third quarter, higher than expectations for earnings of $1.57. “We still believe Apple remains among the most underappreciated stocks in the world”.

While Apple may have made a rare misstep in releasing the clues in the Home Pod firmware, it’s also worth noting that nothing has yet been confirmed by the company.

“We’ve created 2 million jobs in the USA and we are incredibly proud of that”, Cook said. He added cryptically that Apple will “have some more things that we’ll say about that” later this year.

Augmented reality is rumored to be one of the main features in the iPhone 8, as Apple’s next phone could include a 3D camera capable of supporting advanced AR features.

In a long-awaited turnaround, Apple sold 11.4 million iPads in the quarter, a 15 percent increase from a year ago.

Apple sold 41.0 million iPhones in the June quarter, up 1.6% from a year ago and ahead of the 40 million that investors expected. The new iPad Pro lineup and the refreshed Macs along with the “Services and Other Products” helped the Cupertino tech leader see YoY revenue growth.