“I could not be extra excited sooner or later now we have forward of us,” Mr Cook dinner mentioned.
In a vote of confidence within the agency’s future, the corporate mentioned it was setting apart an historic $110bn to purchase again shares.
In after-hours commerce, the information helped carry demand for the inventory, the worth of which has dropped greater than 6% this 12 months.
However the struggles on the firm – which additionally endured a streak of gross sales declines for 5 of the final six quarters – marked a distinction with the broader market.
Globally, smartphone shipments rose 10% within the first three months of the 12 months, increasing after an extended lacklustre interval, based on analysis agency Canalys.
At Apple, quarterly gross sales of iPhone dropped greater than 10% year-on-year and gross sales slipped in each geographic area apart from Europe, with the agency’s crucial larger China market seeing a fall of 8%.
Mr Cook dinner sought to reassure traders in regards to the state of the enterprise in China, noting that iPhone gross sales had been truly up in “mainland” China.
“I preserve an awesome view of China in the long run,” he mentioned.
However competitors is intensifying, as native rival Huawei mounts a rebound.
Apple can also be dealing with authorized battles with regulators within the US and Europe over its app retailer charges.
A separate anti-monopoly lawsuit within the US in opposition to Google threatens the profitable funds Apple receives from the search big in alternate for making Google the default search engine on Safari, Apple’s web browser.
In accordance with courtroom filings, these funds amounted to about $20bn (£15bn) in 2022, a sum that helped carry Apple earnings.
Chief monetary officer Luca Maestri mentioned Apple gross sales had been anticipated to rise within the “low single digits” within the three months to June. He mentioned the agency anticipated double digit progress in its providers enterprise, providing extra steering than the corporate usually gives.
In a analysis notice after the outcomes, Angelo Zino, senior fairness analyst at CFRA Analysis, mentioned they might “change the narrative” for Apple.
“China is holding up higher than anticipated and there are a bunch of upcoming occasions/catalysts on the horizon that might enhance investor sentiment,” he wrote.
