Apple reported on Monday a blowout March quarter, the company's second fiscal quarter. Apple reported revenues of US$58 billion with earnings of $13.6 billion, or $2.33 earnings per share (EPS). This was fueled by record Q2 iPhone sales of 61.2 million units, a 40 percent increase year over year. iPhone revenue was 55 percent higher year over year. Gross margins came in at 40.8 percent.
Consensus estimates on Wall Street were for revenues of $56.06 billion, and EPS of $2.16.
Revenue figures were up 27 percent year over year, dragged down by disappointing iPad sales. Apple reported sales of 12.6 million iPads, some 23 percent less than it did in the second quarter of 2014. iPad revenues were down even more, at 29 percent.
Mac sales came in at 4.6 million units, a 10 percent increase year over year and also a second quarter record. Mac revenues were up a more modest 2 percent.
On a regional basis, Apple reported double digit year over year sales growth in every region except Japan, which was down 15 percent. Sales in China were up a whopping 71 percent.
"We are thrilled by the continued strength of iPhone, Mac and the App Store, which drove our best March quarter results ever," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. "We’re seeing a higher rate of people switching to iPhone than we’ve experienced in previous cycles, and we’re off to an exciting start to the June quarter with the launch of Apple Watch."
Cash flow from operations was $19.1 billion.
Apple provided guidance for the June quarter of revenues between $46 and $48 billion, and gross margins between 38.5 and 39.5 percent.
Shares of $AAPL ended the day at $132.65, a gain of $2.37 (+1.82 percent), on very heavy volume of 93.3 million shares trading hands.
After hours trading currently has $AAPL up another $1.97 (1.49 percent) to $134.62 per share.
*In the interest of full disclosure, the author holds a tiny, almost insignificant share in AAPL stock that was not an influence in the creation of this article.