FirstFT: Apple’s iPhone gross sales rebound however complete income continues decline

Gross sales of Apple’s iPhone bounced again from provide chain disruptions within the vacation interval, rising 2 per cent within the quarter to $51.3bn, forward of estimates at $48.9bn.

The uptick got here as a aid to buyers questioning what demand would seem like following an outbreak of Covid-19 on the Foxconn manufacturing unit generally known as “iPhone Metropolis” that had derailed manufacturing in November.

Chief govt Tim Cook dinner mentioned Apple had made it by means of “this parade of horribles . . . between the pandemic and the chip shortages and macroeconomic elements”. He added: “The availability chain has been extremely resilient and we be ok with what we’re and what our plans are.”

However complete income nonetheless fell 2.5 per cent yr on yr to $94.8bn within the three months to the top of March, the second quarter of decline in a row, as a result of what the corporate described as a “harder” financial setting and forex headwinds.

Right here’s what else is occurring at this time and over the weekend:

Thanks for studying FirstFT. When you’re in search of a deeper evaluation of the UK polls as we look forward to outcomes to come back in, I like to recommend the latest version of the Inside Politics publication by Stephen Bush, who explains the nationwide points behind the native elections.

5 extra prime tales

1. US regional banks suffered extreme share worth declines yesterday amid contemporary requires an intervention from Washington. Activist investor Nelson Peltz advised the Monetary Instances that the deposit insurance coverage restrict needs to be elevated. Right here’s the most recent on the US banking turmoil.

2. A flood of gilt gross sales is driving up the UK authorities’s borrowing prices, buyers say, as markets are requested to soak up file volumes of bonds with out the Financial institution of England stepping in to vacuum up provide. Learn the total story.

3. Invoice Clinton realised it was “only a matter of time” earlier than Vladimir Putin would invade Ukraine, the previous US president mentioned, recalling remarks made by the Russian chief in 2011 on an settlement to respect Ukraine’s territory made below Putin’s predecessor Boris Yeltsin. Right here’s what Clinton remembered from his chilling dialog with Putin.

4. Shares of the UK’s largest housebuilders have rallied unexpectedly by greater than 20 per cent on common since January, as buyers more and more wager Britain will keep away from a giant fall in home costs. Learn extra from the latest outcomes from builders.

5. Tens of millions of Britons are overpaying on cell phone contracts as a result of operators are unfairly imposing increased tariffs on “bundle” bundle clients, in keeping with new knowledge launched at this time by Virgin Media O2, which known as on its opponents to cease “swindling” clients.

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The Huge Learn

Final yr, ByteDance staff by means of TikTok accessed journalists’ private data, together with their bodily places, as a part of an try to trace down the writers’ sources after a sequence of damaging tales concerning the firm. One of many victims was FT know-how correspondent Cristina Criddle. That is her story.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

Chart of the day

Progressives are profitable the immigration debate in western nations, with some theorising that the success of anti-immigration populism shocked beforehand complacent moderates into vocalising assist for range, writes chief knowledge reporter John Burn-Murdoch.

Hear Hillary Clinton stay in dialog with the FT’s US nationwide editor Edward Luce on Might 20 at our FTWeekend Competition. Register now and get $20 off as a publication subscriber with the promotion code NewslettersxFestival at ft.com/festival-us.

Take a break from the information

Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner reinvented common British cinema with hits from 4 Weddings to Love Really. The trade has modified remarkably since then. However their MO is way because it was 30 years in the past. “Each film nonetheless basically comes right down to this: cowl your nuts and bounce,” Bevan mentioned.

Further contributions by Gordon Smith and Emily Goldberg