Apple CEO Tim Cook. (Photo: Apple)
Apple CEO Tim Cook. (Photo: Apple)

Apple’s iPhone sales continued to slump in the June quarter, declining 15 percent to 40.4 million units. The company’s overall revenue fell by a similar percentage, to $42.4 billion. Earnings per share also declined to $1.42, from $1.85 per share in the same quarter a year ago.

But even those declining results were better than Wall Street’s expectations, and Apple’s shares are up nearly 5 percent in after-hours trading. Analysts surveyed in advance by Thomson Reuters expected revenue of $42.1 billion, down 15 percent, and profits of $1.38 per share, down 25 percent from the same quarter a year ago.

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“We are pleased to report third quarter results that reflect stronger customer demand and business performance than we anticipated at the start of the quarter,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in the company’s earnings news release. “We had a very successful launch of iPhone SE and we’re thrilled by customers’ and developers’ response to software and services we previewed at WWDC in June.”

In an interview with CNBC, Cook was still bullish on the iPhone business, as well as Apple’s Services business, including iCloud storage plans, Apple Music subscriptions, Apple Care service plans and other premium services. Apple made $5.9 billion on services for the quarter, up 19 percent from a year earlier.

The company started to see signs of weakness in the March quarter this year, posting its first year-over-year drop in quarterly revenue since 2003, including its first-ever decline in iPhone sales.

Developing story, more to come.

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