Apple (AAPL) Just Hit It Out Of The Park

Shares of tech giant Apple took a trip north on Tuesday, after the company reported third quarter results that were much better than expected after the close.

Apple’s revenues may have declined 15% to $42.4 billion but they still beat estimates of $42.1 billion.

Earnings per share came in at $1.42, also trumping expectations for $1.38 but marking a decline from $1.85 a year ago. Gross margin at 38% was down from 39.7% last year, but also ahead of consensus estimates of 37.96%.

The company sold 40.4 million iPhones versus the expectations for 40.2 million units and sold 9.95 million iPads, also ahead of expectations for 8.7 million units. Apple missed estimates on Mac sales by selling 4.2 million Macs versus the estimate for 4.6 million.

In the company’s press release, CEO Tim Cook commented, “We are pleased to report third quarter results that reflect stronger customer demand and business performance than we anticipated at the start of the quarter.”

“We had a very successful launch of iPhone SE and we’re thrilled by customers’ and developers’ response to software and services we previewed at WWDC in June.”

Looking ahead, Apple’s expected September revnue has been revised to $45.5 to $47.5 billion which comes in ahead of consensus calls for $45.8 billion.

Gross margin expectations for the September quarter are 37.5% to 38%, which do miss the estimates of 38.3%.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and have not been compensated for this article.