Apple (AAPL) Beats on Surprise China Numbers; Plus EA, MDLZ

Apple Inc.'s AAPL long-awaited fiscal Q3 earnings report was released Tuesday after the closing bell, with results better than expected on both top and bottom lines: earnings of $2.18 per share outpaced estimates by 8 cents, while $53.8 billion in quarterly sales improved on the estimated $53.31 billion. Revenues grew year over year, though earnings did not.

iPhone sales in the quarter came in a tad light from expectations to 25.99 million units, down roughly 15% year over year. And its Services segment, bringing in $11.46 billion, was beneath the $11.7 billion expected. Yet guidance was up on stronger Wearables, and especially a surprise $9.16 billion in revenues from its Chinese market. Shares cranked up 3% almost immediately on the news.

Electronic Arts EA is up 4% in late trading Tuesday following its fiscal Q4 earnings report, which saw revenues sail past quarterly estimates: $743 million versus $724.5 million in the Zacks consensus (though still down 6% from year-ago totals). Earnings also outperformed expectations, but this was due to a large one-time income tax benefit of more than $5 per share. The company cited its new Apex Legend game's success as a reason for the solid quarterly performance. For more on EA's earnings, click here.

International snack giant Mondelez MDLZ met its bottom-line estimate of 57 cents per share for its Q2 report, while posting sales of $6.06 billion which surpassed the $5.97 billion analysts were looking for. Organic revenues were well ahead of the 2.8% expected, to 4.6% in the quarter. The company also raised full-year guidance as well as its quarterly dividend.

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