Apple Records Largest Quarterly Decline in Revenue in 6 Years.
Apple’s revenue fell at the sharpest quarterly pace in six years during the first quarter of fiscal 2023, as iPhone and Mac’s sales fell. The company’s business results revealed that net profit amounted to $29.9 billion in the three months ending in December, compared to $34.6 billion in the same period of the previous year. Earnings per share were $1.88, compared to expectations of $1.94. The company achieved total revenues of $117.1 billion, compared to $123.9 billion in the comparative period and to expectations of $121.1 billion. The decline in revenue is the first since 2019, and the pace of decline of 5% is the largest since 2016.
Revenues from selling iPhones decreased to $65.7 billion, compared to $71.6 billion in the comparative period, and revenues from selling Macs fell to $7.7 billion from $10.8 billion. While iPad revenue rose to $9.3 billion from $7.2 billion, services sales increased to $20.7 billion from $19.5 billion. Apple shares fell by 4% in after-hours trading after rising 3.7% at the close of Thursday’s session.
Amazon Records a Loss of $2.7 Billion in 2022
Amazon announced better-than-expected revenues during the fourth quarter of last year, but the company recorded a net loss for 2022. The company’s business results showed that net profit amounted to $278 million in the three months ending last December, compared to $14.3 billion in the prior year of 2021. Earnings per share came in at 3 cents, far below expectations of 17 cents.
Amazon recorded revenues of $149.2 billion, compared to $137.4 billion in the same period of 2021 and compared to expectations of $145.4 billion. In 2022, it lost $ 2.7 billion, compared to a net profit in the previous year of $ 33.3 billion.
The company expected revenues in the first quarter of this year to be between $121 and $126 billion, representing an increase of between 4% and 8% year on year. At the same time, analysts expected $125.1 billion in revenues. Amazon shares fell by 5.1% after-session trading, knowing that the share value ended Thursday’s trading session 7.4% up at $112.91.
Alphabet Achieved Below Than Expected Revenues.
Alphabet reported lower-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter of last year, with advertising revenue declining. The company’s business results revealed that net profit amounted to $13.6 billion in the previous three months of 2022, compared to $20.6 billion in the comparative period of 2021.
Earnings per share came in at $1.05, below expectations of $1.18. The company recorded revenues of $76.04 billion, up 1% year-on-year, compared to expectations of $76.5 billion. Google search revenue fell to $42.6 billion from $43.3 billion, and YouTube ads fell from $8.6 billion to $7.9 billion. At the same time, Google’s computing revenue rose to $7.3 billion, compared to $5.5 billion in the same period one year ago.
The company expected to incur costs between $1.9 and $2.3 billion in the first quarter of this year, linked to the decision to lay off 12,000 employees. In after-session trading, Alphabet shares fell by 3.7% after rising 7.3% to $107.74 at the closing of Thursday’s session.
S&P500 Index and Meta Shares Overperform.
US stocks rose at the close of trading on Thursday, February 2nd. However, the Dow Jones industrial index recorded slight losses in conjunction with the disclosure of corporate business results.
At the end of the session, the Dow Jones index fell by 0.1% to 34,053 points. In contrast, the S&P500 index rose by 1.47% to 4,179 points, achieving its best daily performance in 5 months. The Nasdaq rose by 3.25%, recording 12,200 points.
The stock gains came with the support of a peak in the Meta share price by more than 23%, making its best daily performance since 2013. The elevation in the share value came after the company revealed better-than-expected business results in the last quarter of 2022. The shares achieved this positive performance before several major technology companies announced their quarterly business results. All eyes are on the US jobs report scheduled for release today, which provides clues about the upcoming Federal Reserve policy.
Gold Heads to the First Weekly Decline in 7 Weeks.
Gold prices stabilized today after heavy selling in the previous session. The heavy selling followed world central Bankers statements on inflation and their monetary policies. Traders absorbed the messages of global central banks and started letting go of the haven.
The yellow metal is heading to record its first weekly decline in seven weeks as the US dollar regains its strength. Gold prices fell 2% amid heavy selling on Thursday, driven by the rise in the dollar and the chances of profit-taking. The price continues to fall and sits now at the $1910.80 price level.
The yellow metal has gained around $300 since November. The price increase was supported by expectations of lower interest rates from the US Federal Reserve as the low-interest rate environment reduces the opportunity cost of owning the non-yielding precious metal. The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points after a year of sharp increases. As expected, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England raised interest rates by 50 basis points on Thursday. Meanwhile, the dollar rose 0.1%, which curbed gold prices.
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