Apple Buys Back Shares As Q2 Earnings Rise

Tech giant Apple reported an increase in quarterly revenue by 4.6 percent to $45.6 billion on Wednesday, beating market expectations, after selling 43.7 million iPhones in January through March.



Apple also reported a net profit of $10.2 billion, or $11.62 per share, nearly totaling the net profits of the banking sector ($10.9 billion in 2013) in Turkey, compared to revenue one year ago of $43.6 billion and profit of $9.5 billion, or $10.09 per share.



Apple announced plans to buy their own stock back from market, and to increase its quarterly dividend by eight percent. Apple said it would split its stock in a seven-for-one split, set to take effect in June.



"We're very proud of our quarterly results, especially our strong iPhone sales and record revenue from services," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "We're eagerly looking forward to introducing more new products and services that only Apple could bring to market."



Apple's shares soared more than 8 percent in after-hours trading, adding $33 billion in its market value, which returns Apple to a market value over $500 billion.  



In January, Apple announced a deal to make the iPhone available for sale to China Mobile's 760 million customers.



For the current quarter, Apple forecast revenue between $36 and $38 billion, and estimated operating expenses at between $4.4 and $4.5 billion, adding that international sales accounted for 66 percent of the quarter's revenue.



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