Apple's stock hits record high: 4-1 split is announced after blow-out quarter reported

Despite a global pandemic that shut Apple's retail locations in the U.S. and caused economic problems in the states and other countries, Apple reported a stellar fiscal third quarter and generated the most revenue for the April-June period in the company's history, $59.7 billion. That was an 11% hike over the same quarter last year and was well past analysts' predictions of $52.25 billion. Net income amounted to $11.3 billion or a 13% hike over last year's numbers. Diluted earnings per share came in at $2.58, up 18.3% from the $2.18 reported during the same quarter in 2019. Wall Street forecast earnings per share of $2.04.

At $26.4 billion, iPhone sales rose 1.7% on an annual basis and blew away Wall Street expectations of $22.4 billion. Apple continued to take in revenue for its Services unit at a level that would surpass the $50 billion goal that it set for this division back in 2016. For the quarter, this unit had revenue of $13.2 billion. For the first three fiscal quarters of this year, Apple's Services business has rung up $39.2 billion. The Wearables, Home, and Accessories group, which includes some of the company's hottest selling devices such as the Apple Watch and the AirPods, has seen growth cool a bit. The unit took in $6.5 billion from April through June for a 16.7% year-over-year increase.

Apple's iPad tablets had a good quarter as the COVID-19 outbreak forced many to turn to the device to work from home. Tablets were also in demand for home-schooling and other forms of distance learning. Apple reported $6.6 billion in iPad sales during its fiscal third quarter for an impressive 31% gain on an annual basis.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said, "Apple’s record June quarter was driven by double-digit growth in both Products and Services and growth in each of our geographic segments. In uncertain times, this performance is a testament to the important role our products play in our customers’ lives and to Apple’s relentless innovation. This is a challenging moment for our communities, and, from Apple’s new $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative to a new commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030, we’re living the principle that what we make and do should create opportunity and leave the world better than we found it."

"Our June quarter performance was strong evidence of Apple’s ability to innovate and execute during challenging times," said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. "The record business results drove our active installed base of devices to an all-time high in all of our geographic segments and all major product categories. We grew EPS by 18 percent and generated operating cash flow of $16.3 billion during the quarter, a June quarter record for both metrics."

Breaking down Apple's sales by region, in the Americas revenue increased 8% to $27 billion. Sales in the world's largest smartphone market, China, rose 1.9% to $9.3 billion. Apple also did very well in Europe where revenues of $14.2 billion produced a hike of 18.9%  year-over-year.

On Wall Street, Apple's shares soared 4.8% after hours to a new all-time high of $403.40, up $18.64. Apple announced that it is splitting its stock 4-1. The company is reportedly going to announce four new iPhone models in the fall. The 5.4-inch iPhone 12, 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Max, 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro, and 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max will all support 5G connectivity for the first time. And all four phones will be powered by the A14 Bionic chipset, the first smartphones to use a 5nm integrated circuit.

During this afternoon's conference call, Apple CFO Luca Maestri said that the release of the new iPhone 12 series will be a few weeks late.