Apple's Net Profit Hit All-Time High of $22 Bn; Delivers Best-Ever Quarter

Apple has posted record results for the final three months of last year, delivering gains in sales of iPhones even as the company transitions to digital services and wearables.

Net profit hit an all-time high of USD 22 billion on record quarterly revenue of USD 91.8 billion, the California tech giant said of the results which were far stronger than most analyst estimates.

"We are thrilled to report Apple's highest quarterly revenue ever, fuelled by strong demand for our iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro models, and all-time records for services and wearables," said Apple chief executive Tim Cook.

Apple's net income in the holiday quarter ending December 28 set a new record for the California-based company, according to chief financial officer Luca Maestri.

The results come with Apple seeking to shift its revenue mix amid a slumping smartphone market and growing competition in the segment, and relying more on services such as music, streaming television and other digital content.

Shares in Apple jumped two percent in after-market trades that followed release of the fiscal first-quarter earnings, extending a remarkable streak for the company which a year ago had been dogged by concerns of a slowdown in smartphone sales.

Apple shares have doubled from a year ago -- lifting its valuation to more than USD 1.3 trillion -- as the company has expanded its services with a streaming television offering, digital payments and wearable tech such as its AirPods and updated Apple Watch.

Analyst Yoram Wurmser of the research firm eMarketer welcomed "a strong quarter for Apple, primarily driven by strong sales of the iPhone 11 lineup." Apple bought back USD 20 billion in shares during the quarter and paid some USD 3.5 billion in dividends as part of a stated mission to be "net cash neutral" some time in the future, Maestri said.

Apple has stopped reporting unit sales for the iPhone, which has been the main cash-generator for the company in recent years, but sales revenue for its smartphone sales was up nearly eight percent in the quarter at USD 55.9 billion.

Services revenue rose 17 per cent from a year ago to USD 12.7 billion, driven by the launch of its Apple TV+ service and its new credit card.

The Apple TV+ on-demand streaming service launched in more than 100 countries at USD 4.99 per month, at a price lower than those offered by rivals such as Netflix.

For the category of wearables and home accessories -- including its HomePod speaker, Apple Watch and other gadgets -- revenue increased some 37 per cent to USD 10 billion.

Overall revenue was up slightly in its Greater China region, a keenly watched market for the company. Apple forecast revenue between USD 63.0 billion and USD 67.0 billion in the current quarter. (AFP)

Jio's June Quarter Net Profit Zooms 45.6% to Rs 891 Crores

Reliance Jio - now India's second largest telecom operator in subscriber base - Friday posted 45.6 per cent rise in net profit for June quarter of 2019-20 to Rs 891 crore, and said the beta trials of its much anticipated 'JioGigaFiber services' is in the final lap.

The company's earnings scorecard comes on a day when Reliance Jio raced past Bharti Airtel to become the second largest mobile operator, as per May 2019 data released by telecom regulator Trai.

For the first quarter ended June 30, Reliance Jio's operating revenue stood at Rs 11,679 crore, up 44 per cent over the year-ago period. Jio's subscriber base stood at 331.3 million as on June 30, 2019.

The June quarter net profit at Rs 891 crore was 45.6 per cent higher over the year-ago period and 6.1 per cent increase when seen sequentially. The company has recorded profit after tax of Rs 612 crore in the Q1 FY19, and Rs 840 crore in Q4 FY19.

"Growth in Jio mobility services has continued to surpass all expectations ...Jio management is focused on giving unmatched digital experience at most affordable price to every citizen of the country, and accordingly expanding the network capacity and coverage to keep pace with demand," Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, of Reliance Industries Limited said in a statement.

Beta trials of JioGigaFiber services have been "very successful" and the entire bouquet of smart home solutions would "soon" be rolled out to targeted 50 million households and beyond, Ambani pointed out.

During the June quarter, the Average Revenue per user (ARPU) for Reliance Jio - the company that unleashed one of the most brutal price wars in India's telecom market - was at Rs 122 per subscriber per month. This is, however, lower than ARPU of Rs 126.2 per subscriber per month seen in the March quarter.

Anshuman Thakur, head of strategy for Jio, said that ARPU is lower as the company is concentrating on longer term plans, and many users are taking Jio Phones which also eats into the average realisations. The company claimed that it was not into ARPU game and would rather focus on adding subscribers.

There is also an increasing trend of customers going in for digital recharges which is impacting the ARPU as the users are typically given incentives on such recharges.

Earlier Friday, Reliance Jio, outpaced Bharti Airtel to become the second largest mobile operator with 32.29 crore subscribers and 27.80 per cent market share in May 2019, as per regulator Trai's data.

The move was significance as Reliance Jio stormed into the highly-competitive telecom sector in September 2016 with its disruptive voice and data offerings, while Bharti Airtel had launched its services way back in 1995.

As per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), Vodafone Idea - born last year from the merger of older operators Vodafone India and Idea Cellular - continues to be the largest operator with 38.75 crore consumers and 33.36 per cent market share in the wireless segment as on May 31, 2019. Sunil Mittal-promoted Bharti Airtel has slipped to the third spot with 32.03 crore mobile subscribers and 27.58 per cent market share during the month.

Established operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea Ltd are in the midst of a bruising tariff war following the entry of Reliance Jio, backed by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani.

Jio's free voice and dirt-cheap data offering have dented the financial metrics of older operators, deepening the impact of regulatory decisions like cut in termination charges, even though the voice and data usage have been growing at a scorching pace. PTI AA MBI

Google Profit Dips to $2.8 Billion, Revenue Grows To $16.5 Billion

Google's zest for innovation and newer markets has costed it a dip in the third quarter earnings of this financial year. The hiring of three thousand more employees has also added to the dip. The results which came in on Thursday saw the search giant's stock drop by 2.4 percent, or $12.92, to 524 dollars in extended trading. Google’s shares had already plunged by 4 percent this year.

The search engine's digital ad network which is powered by its dominant search engine has constantly been delivering profits that have been keeping the interests of its investors high over the years.

According to Larry Page, Google's CEO, the company needs to sacrifice some short term gains and goals so that it can invest in projects and other researches that could take a long time to take off or make money. The CEO described these small dips and risky initiatives as “moon shots”. Page further defends these steps by pointing out the fact that company might not have ever been able to develop its Chrome Web browser and Android mobile software if it hadn’t gone out on a limb.

The search giant is currently working on a string of innovations like Internet beaming balloons, driverless cars, Internet connected eyewear and a fleet of drones.

As far as investors are concerned, exploring new technologies always prove to be expensive for them. This is one of the reasons why the San-Francisco based search giant's operating expenses increased by a whopping 30 percent from a year earlier to 5 billion dollars in the third quarter, this is after subtracting the employee stock compensation costs. These rising expenses brought Google’s third quarter revenue to $16.5 billion.

A big percentage of the rising expenses were spent on hiring more employees. Some 3,000 employees were hired in the third quarter which was roughly double the number of employees hired last year at the same time.

In what could be assumed as a positive sign, the search giant's average ad prices in the third quarter dipped by a mere two percent from last year. This is the smallest dip in the prices paid to the search giant for the advertisements which appear alongside search results and other content on the web.

Google Profit Dips to $2.8 Billion, Revenue Grows To $16.5 Billion

Google's zest for innovation and newer markets has costed it a dip in the third quarter earnings of this financial year. The hiring of three thousand more employees has also added to the dip. The results which came in on Thursday saw the search giant's stock drop by 2.4 percent, or $12.92, to 524 dollars in extended trading. Google’s shares had already plunged by 4 percent this year.

The search engine's digital ad network which is powered by its dominant search engine has constantly been delivering profits that have been keeping the interests of its investors high over the years.

According to Larry Page, Google's CEO, the company needs to sacrifice some short term gains and goals so that it can invest in projects and other researches that could take a long time to take off or make money. The CEO described these small dips and risky initiatives as “moon shots”. Page further defends these steps by pointing out the fact that company might not have ever been able to develop its Chrome Web browser and Android mobile software if it hadn’t gone out on a limb.

The search giant is currently working on a string of innovations like Internet beaming balloons, driverless cars, Internet connected eyewear and a fleet of drones.

As far as investors are concerned, exploring new technologies always prove to be expensive for them. This is one of the reasons why the San-Francisco based search giant's operating expenses increased by a whopping 30 percent from a year earlier to 5 billion dollars in the third quarter, this is after subtracting the employee stock compensation costs. These rising expenses brought Google’s third quarter revenue to $16.5 billion.

A big percentage of the rising expenses were spent on hiring more employees. Some 3,000 employees were hired in the third quarter which was roughly double the number of employees hired last year at the same time.

In what could be assumed as a positive sign, the search giant's average ad prices in the third quarter dipped by a mere two percent from last year. This is the smallest dip in the prices paid to the search giant for the advertisements which appear alongside search results and other content on the web.