Apple EPS Report - Reiterate BUY (Nasdaq: AAPL)

The Apple store in New York City

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) earned $7.7 billion or $1.28 per share, which was better than analyst expectations for $1.23, based on Factset data. Apple’s earnings rose on strong iPhone sales into emerging markets including China. The company also noted strong Mac sales, but iPad sales faded year-to-year more than analysts expected. Gross margin expanded to 39.4% against last year’s 36.9% profit, which served as a positive surprise to a market that is concerned about the risk of narrowing margins over the longer term. All signs point toward further rise for Apple shares. The latest result was good enough to hold ground and now investors can look forward to the release of at least one new iPhone and possibly two, each with larger screens. Talk about a wearable watch release is intensifying as well, and rumors of a payments technology is exciting. This is a company that has had starving fans in the investment arena waiting for the next greatest thing for too long now. And 5-year growth estimates for 12.3% could get an upgrade if the company produces some interesting new products this fall as I expect, and the stock is still valued modestly. Entry into the China market was a huge win, and the latest deal with IBM (NYSE: IBM) will allow Apple to take on Blackberry (Nasdaq: BBRY) at enterprises. I reiterated my buy opinion, and recommend readers see my full report: Apple Reports Q3 EPS – Reiterating Buy Here.