Just when investors were losing patience, Apple CEO Tim Cook managed to buy more time.
The gadget maker surprised the Street on Wednesday with strong profit and revenue growth, along with a grab bag of financial goodies that pushed the stock up nearly 8 percent in after-hours trading.
Apple expanded its already record-setting share buyback program by $30 billion, to $90 billion, and boosted its dividend by 8 percent.
The Cupertino, Calif., company also plans to split its stock seven-for-one in June — its first such move in nearly a decade.
Based on Wednesday’s closing price of $524.75 a share, the stock would be far more affordable and trade at around $75.
The effort was enough to appease critics who have been clamoring for Cook to return more money to shareholders while they wait for the next big thing.
“Agree completely with $AAPL’s increased buyback and extremely pleased with results,” tweeted activist investor Carl Icahn, who has been instrumental in pushing Cook to increase the share-buyback program.
The only trick missing from the show was an amazing new product.
Investors will undoubtedly renew their cries for “the next big thing.”
Speculation has been building for months that Apple will roll out either a Web-enabled watch or a sleek TV suited for Internet streaming.
Cook, who took over the reins from founder Steve Jobs in 2011, is under pressure to prove he can follow in his predecessor’s footsteps when it comes to product innovation.
In a conference call to discuss earnings, Cook sought to reassure investors that the company is hard at work on game-changing products.
“We’ve got some great things that we’re working on and that I’m very, very excited about,” Cook said.
“But when you work on every detail, on getting it right, that sometimes takes longer.”
Investors were wowed enough to send the stock soaring $39.78, or 7.6 percent, to $564.53 in extended trading.
“It’s a company that’s trying to please Wall Street,” Max Wolff, chief economist of Citizen VC told CNBC. “It didn’t used to have to. Now it does. I think it’s a huge milestone.”
Apple’s results in the quarter ended March were driven largely by strong sales of the iconic iPhone.
It sold 43.7 million iPhones, up from 37.4 million last year — a new record in the normally lackluster March quarter. Cook said the results show that his push to sell in China is working.
“Hopefully, this quarter demonstrates to you that we can do well in a number of geographies,” he said.
Revenue grew 4.5 percent to $45.6 billion, above the company’s guidance for between $42 billion to $44 billion.
Profit grew in the fiscal second quarter by 7 percent, to $10.2 billion. Wall Street analysts had been expecting $9.07 billion.
Sales of iPads, however, dropped 16 percent — the steepest drop ever — and raise questions about whether cheaper tablets are starting to take market share.
Cook attributed the decline to inventory problems, saying, “I am very bullish on the iPad.”