Apple's earnings helped the market close last week on a good note

• Apple beats consensus for fiscal second quarter earnings per share and revenue.
• Sales fall 4% annually, but the forecast for the current quarter increases.
• Council approves largest buyback in history, $110 billion.
• Apple's earnings pushed stock indices higher.

Apple stock (AAPL) They rose almost 6% on Friday, after results that impressed most analysts. In percentage terms, Apple shares recorded the biggest rise in a single session since November 10, 2022.

As the second largest company in the public markets, after Microsoft (MSFT)Apple's best output in some time boosted the overall market.

The Dow Jones ended Friday up 1.2%, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.3%. The Nasdaq led the way, up 2%.

Apple Stock News: 4% Quarterly

Apple may have narrowly beaten Wall Street estimates when it released fiscal second-quarter earnings results late Thursday, but investors were entirely focused on the mountain of buybacks that CEO Tim Cook offered to investors. shareholders.

Cook and his team announced that the company will buy back shares worth $110 billion from a company valued at more than $2.8 trillion. Although the buyback will take some time to complete, this is equivalent to almost 4% of the shares outstanding at current prices. This is already the largest buyback initiated to date in the history of the stock market.

Apple also announced that it would increase its measly dividend by just over 4%, to $0.25 per share.

The iPhone maker earned $1.53 GAAP earnings per share (EPS) on $90.8 billion in sales during the January-March quarter of this year. EPS beat the consensus forecast by 3 cents, while revenue beat expectations by almost $200 million. However, sales fell by more than 4% annually.

However, Wall Street saw this earnings presentation as the turning point. Cook said revenue growth was expected in the “single digits” in the fiscal third quarter, which ends in June.

This statement is positive for Apple as it means traders are likely to hold AAPL shares ahead of its third quarter results, especially since Apple is scheduled to unveil its artificial intelligence (AI) strategy in June.

Wedbush Securities praised the guidance and maintained its $250 price target on AAPL shares.

Apple Stock Forecast

Apple shares jumped well above the moving averages on Friday. With the 20-day, 50-day, and 100-day EMAs structured with the shorter duration at the bottom, AAPL stock had been in a short-term downtrend since at least late February.

Now all that could change. Bulls can be expected to push Apple stock up to at least the $196 level, where investors discovered resistance back in January. Above here is the all-time high of $199.62 on December 14, 2023.

Support remains at $179, $176 and $164.

AAPL Daily Chart