Apple Shares Drop After Revenue and iPhone Sales Miss Estimates

Apple’s stock fell back below $500 per share in after-hours trading after the company reported revenue and iPhone sales that fell short of analyst expectations for its fiscal first quarter.

The company reported earnings of $13.81 per share, beating analyst estimates of $13.47 per share.  Revenue fell short of analyst estimates coming in at $54.51 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $54.73 billion.  The company sold 47.8 million iPhones, while analysts were expecting sales to be closer to 50 million.  Apple said it sold 22.9 million iPads and 4.1 million Macs.

Apple’s profit margins dropped to 38.6 percent, compared with 45 percent a year earlier due partly to the iPhone 5, which required a complete hardware overhaul from pervious versions.  Analysts expected Apple’s profit margins to decline to 38.4 percent.

The company expects second quarter revenue to be between $41 and $42 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $45.38 billion.  Apple also said that it expects its second quarter profit margin of between 37.5 to 38.5 percent.