Apple (AAPL) posted a better-than-expected March quarter after the bell Thursday, despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty — helping the market clear another one of the big four hurdles we laid out earlier this week. Shares gained more than 2% in after-hours trading. Revenue in Apple’s fiscal second quarter of $94.84 billion dropped 3% year-over-year but beat expectations of $92.96 billion. Foreign exchange fluctuations were a headwind of over 500 basis points or more than 5 percentage points. Earnings per share (EPS) of $1.52 were flat compared to a year ago, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.43. Gross margin was 44.3%, expanding from a year ago and edging the 44.1% consensus estimate. Bottom line Apple bounced back nicely from the supply-constrained December quarter to deliver record March quarter results across a few key categories and metrics. The installed base of active devices continued to expand to more than 2 billion. New services and features are constantly being added — including a recent buy now, pay later option and high-yield savings accounts — providing fuel to an incredible ecosystem that garners unmatched loyalty and satisfaction from its customers. Wednesday evening’s disappointing outlook on handset chipsets from Qualcomm (QCOM) sparked fears that global demand for mobile devices had been slipping even further. However, the Q2 results and outlook commentary a day later from Apple should ease some of those concerns, at least for now. ( We exited the Club’s remaining small position in Qualcomm Thursday morning.) It’s hard to tell if Apple’s results were enough to send shares in the near term back to all-time highs of about $176 each, set back in August. But for now, we do know that two of the four market events we were concerned about have passed — the Fed’s latest interest rate hike and Apple’s earnings. We reiterate that Apple should be owned, and not traded. The next question market for the market is Friday’s employment report,…
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