Apple reported earnings per share of $1.96 on revenue of $51.5 billion. Analysts expected Apple to report earnings of $1.88 per share on $51.11 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Shares rose about 2 percent percent following the results.
The company sold 48.04 million iPhones in the fiscal fourth quarter, as well as 9.883 million iPads.
Apple also provided guidance for the key fiscal-first quarter's sales that came in at the low end of analysts' estimates. It expects sales of $75.5 billion to $77.5 billion; analysts had expected sales of about $77.17 billion.

The Company posted quarterly revenue of $51.5 billion and quarterly net profit of $11.1 billion, or $1.96 per diluted share.

Apple’s board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $.52 per share of the Company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on November 12, 2015, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on November 9, 2015.

Apple is providing the following guidance for its fiscal 2016 first quarter:

• revenue between $75.5 billion and $77.5 billion
• gross margin between 39 percent and 40 percent
• operating expenses between $6.3 billion and $6.4 billion
• other income/(expense) of $400 million
• tax rate of 26.2 percent

Carl Icahn whittles Apple stake

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn trimmed his stake in Apple Inc. last year as the stock declined, a new regulatory filing shows.

Icahn, who this time last year predicted the iPhone makers' stock would hit hit $200 a share, reduced his multi-billion dollar Apple holdings by 7 million shares to 45.7 million shares in the three-month period ended in December, the filing showed.

This Billionaire Thinks Apple Inc Shares Are Worth $240

Oct 7, 2015 at 6:38PM

In May, legendary investor Carl Icahn disclosed details of his valuation of Apple in which he pegged the iPhone maker's intrinsic value at $240 per share. However, last week, Icahn told CNBC that "we haven't basically changed the position [in the third quarter]," during which period the shares got 12% cheaper. As a value investor, shouldn't he be adding to this "no-brainer" (his own words) when the stock is a fifty-cent dollar?

Part of the explanation is the size of Icahn's position going into the third quarter. The numbers are staggering: By my estimate, as of the end of June, he had already spent $3.68 billion to acquire 52.8 million shares (average cost: $69.73 per share)

Employee found dead at Apple’s headquarters

Apr 27, 2016 6:57 p.m. ET

An Apple Inc. employee was found dead of an apparent suicide Wednesday morning in a conference room at the tech giant’s Cupertino, California, headquarters.

Sgt. Andrea Urena of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were called to the building around 8:35 a.m. after a report of a male with a head wound.

“They found one individual male down and that he was deceased,” Urena said, according to a report by the San Jose Mercury News. “Through further investigation they determined that there were no other individuals involved and they believe it was an isolated incident, and that there’s nobody else on the campus or in the public that is at risk.” A gun was reportedly found next to the man’s body.

Urena said deputies are not seeking a suspect, and an autopsy will be held to determine cause of death.

Apple did not identify the employee, but a worker there told the Mercury News that grief counselors were on call and some employees had been given the option of going home.

On Wednesday, Apple shares plunged after disappointing earnings the day before, reporting its first drop in revenue in 13 years.

Billionaire Icahn Exits Apple Stake After Three Years

Billionaire Carl Icahn, who first disclosed his stake in Apple Inc. almost three years ago, has sold out of his position because of concerns about the company’s relationship with China, the activist said Thursday.

“We no longer have a position in Apple,” Icahn told CNBC. Icahn sold most of his remaining stake in February, he said. “I got out because I’m worried about China.”

Icahn perceives a risk in Apple’s relationship with China and that made his already profitable investment in the company no longer a “no-brainer,” he said. China shut down Apple’s iTunes Movies and iBooks services recently, showing that the company is no longer immune to the reach of Beijing regulators.

“You worry a little bit, and maybe more than a little, about China’s attitude,” Icahn said. Apple has a good relationship with China, providing vast employment there, but also relies on the country for lots of sales, he said.

Apple shares declined 2.7 percent to $95.18 as of 3:10 p.m. in New York, giving the company a market value of about $521 billion. They dropped more than 7 percent this year through Wednesday.

Huge Profit

In the fourth quarter, Icahn sold 7 million Apple shares, leaving him with 45.8 million shares worth $4.8 billion, according to a February regulatory filing. He reduced his holding just before the company’s shares started to slide this year on concerns that the smartphone market is becoming saturated and that China will no longer fuel sales growth.

“We have this huge profit so by definition it’s not the no-brainer it was -- but two -- if China was basically steady I would probably go back into” Apple, which he reiterated he viewed as a great company with great management. “I hope one day to get back into it.”

After disclosing his Apple stake in August 2013, Icahn pushed Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook to return more of the company’s ballooning cash pile to investors. The iPhone maker stepped up its share buybacks and increased dividends, helping to fuel a 38 percent share rally in 2014. That petered out in 2015, when Apple shares declined 4.6 percent.

On Wednesday, Apple said sales for the three months ended March 26 dropped 13 percent to $50.6 billion, ending a streak of 51 consecutive quarters of uninterrupted growth.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Takes $1 Billion Position in Apple

May 16, 2016

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. took a new $1 billion position in Apple Inc. in the first quarter, a move that comes as the technology giant’s shares have been battered amid a slowdown in iPhone sales.

The legendary investor’s firm reported owning 9.81 million shares of Apple as of March 31, worth about $1.07 billion. But the value of that investment has already dropped significantly after the company reported its first quarterly revenue decline since 2003 last month.

Mr. Buffett’s positions were disclosed in a 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a quarterly requirement for investors managing more than $100 million. The report indicates the number of shares held and the value of each stake at the end of the quarter, so it isn’t clear if Mr. Buffett has continued buying the stock since the quarter ended.

Mr. Buffett’s investment in Apple—his only new position taken in the quarter—follows the exit of another well-known investor, Carl Icahn, who said last month he had sold his big stake. He told CNBC at the time that Apple is a great company but no longer a “no-brainer” as an investment choice. Mr. Icahn made his initial investment, reported to be worth about $1.5 billion, in 2013. He subsequently bought more shares and called for the company to boost its stock buybacks.

Apple CEO Tim Cook Collects $36 Million in Stock Sale

Shares sold under pre-determined plan to avoid any timing questions

August 26, 2016

Apple CEO Tim Cook sold $36 million worth of company stock this week, according to a securities filing on Friday.

The sale came as Cook just passed his fifth anniversary running the company, lifting the restrictions on 1.26 million shares of stock he’d been awarded earlier.

Apple withheld more than 656,000 shares to meet tax withholding requirements, while Cook chose to sell 334,000 shares on the open market this week, garnering almost $36 million, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Including some prior Apple stock holdings, Cook was left with 1.31 million shares worth about $140 million at Friday’s closing price. Cook also could collect another 3.5 million shares that remain under restrictions in coming years.

The shares Cook sold hit the market on Thursday and Friday at prices that ranged from a low of $106.54 to a high of $107.92, according to the filing.

The timing of the sales was predetermined under what is known as a 10b5-1 plan, named after an SEC regulation that allows company insiders to avoid insider trading charges by setting up a schedule of sales in advance. Even if Apple had suffered from bad news this week causing its share price to fall, Cook still would have sold his shares under the 10b5-1 plan.

Cook has sold Apple shares at regular intervals in the past, including in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014.