Apple's increased focus on selling services and digital goods to iPhone users comes as regulators and app makers seek to loosen the tech giant's grip on the App Store. Photo: Julie SEBADELHA / AFPon Thursday said its quarterly profit ebbed but topped market forecasts as it announced an unprecedented $110 billion share buyback.
Shares were up nearly 6 percent to $183.20 in after-market trading, buoyed by the epic buyback program. In the key Greater China market, sales of iPhones shrank to $16.4 billion from $17.8 billion in a year-over-year comparison, earnings figures showed. Cook said he remains very optimistic about the China market, noting iPhones were top sellers in urban areas and his recent visit to open an Apple store in Shanghai was"fantastic."Apple's sales decline in China was less than feared, and the company appears to be holding up better than expected there, according to CFRA senior equity analyst Angelo Zino.