AAPL: Apple Revenue Meets Forecast at $81.8bn, Stock Falls 2% on Weaker iPhone Sales. Again.

Apple’s revenue is down for the third straight quarter. Is the iPhone maker out of innovative ideas?

• Apple stock AAPL tumbled over 2% after the closing bell on Thursday on a not-that-great earnings report. The tech giant posted a 1% decline in sales from a year ago, landing at $81.8bn, down 14% from the previous quarter. It was the third straight quarterly slump in revenue and about in line with Wall Street estimates of $81.9bn.
• The kicker: Apple’s most profitable unit – iPhone – came in with a 2.4% drop in revenue year-over-year. Sales of the iPhone arrived at $39.7bn, or about half of total revenue. Slowing growth in Apple is causing some investors to wonder can the bellwether of the Big Tech pack keep churning out market-leading innovation, especially in the smartphone space?
• Net profits for the latest quarter rose 2.3% to $19.9bn, eclipsing estimates of a 3.6% decline to $18.7bn. Earnings per share jumped to $1.26 against expectations of $1.19. Despite Apple shares’ after-hours decline, the Cupertino company has added more than 50% to its valuation this year, crossing the $3tn market cap threshold.