Apple revenue beats Street view, doubles capital return

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc plans to double the amount of capital it returns to shareholders, partly by raising debt, bowing to investors' demands that it share more of its record $145 billion cash pile.

Shares of the company, which were halted before the release of its earnings results, jumped 5.6 percent to $428.70 in after-hours trade.

Apple also posted on Tuesday fiscal second-quarter revenue that beat Wall Street's expectations as iPhone and iPad sales surpassed investors' lowered expectations.

But profit declined for the first time in a decade. Apple earned $9.5 billion or $10.09 a share in the quarter, down from $11.6 billion or $12.30, a year earlier.

 

The company reported better-than-expected second quarter revenue of $43.6 billion, beating Wall Street's average forecast for $42.3 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company also announced an expanded cash return program for shareholders.

(Reporting By Poornima Gupta; Editing by Bernard Orr)