Apple shares went up more than 6% on Friday morning after the company shared its second-quarter earnings report, which was better than expected. They also announced the biggest stock buyback program ever. If the gains stay until the market closes, it will be the best day for Apple shares since November 30, 2022.
The company said it would buy back $110 billion of its shares, which is the largest buyback in U.S. history, even more than what Apple has done before. According to LSEG, Apple made $1.53 per share on revenue of $90.75 billion, beating what analysts had predicted, which was $1.50 per share on revenue of $90.01 billion.
However, all-around sales went down by 4%, and iPhone sales dropped by 10% compared to last year. This shows that fewer people are buying the latest iPhones. Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC that the sales drop was because it was tough to compare with last year’s numbers.
Analysts at Bank of America said that Apple is still a good buy and raised their target price to $230 from $225, expecting Apple to introduce new features using artificial intelligence for the iPhone this year.
JPMorgan analysts, who also think Apple is a good investment, raised their price target to $225 from $210, pointing out that iPhone revenues were strong compared to last year, and they expect more people to upgrade their iPads after Apple’s product launch next week.
Morgan Stanley analysts kept their positive rating on Apple and raised their price target to $216 from $210 on Friday. They mentioned Apple’s good performance in the quarter, increased iPhone sales in China, the big stock buyback, and hints about future AI updates.
Analysts are optimistic about Apple’s future growth, especially with potential new features and products in the pipeline.
