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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Apple’s revenue fell 4 per cent in the first three months of 2024, narrowly beating analyst expectations for a bigger decline, as sales in China continued to slow.

The tech company on Thursday announced revenue of $90.75bn, compared with consensus estimates of $90.3bn. Apple also announced another $110bn in share buybacks and raised its quarterly dividend by 4 per cent.

Diluted earnings per share were $1.53, compared with consensus estimates of $1.50, down from $1.52 last year.

Services revenue — which includes the App Store, Apple TV and Apple Pay — once again saw strong growth, up 14 per cent to a record $23.8bn.

Apple shares were 3 per cent higher in after-hours trading. So far this year its stock has fallen about 7 per cent, and it has once again lost its position as the world’s most valuable listed company to Microsoft.

The company has had a rocky start to the year, with the cancellation of its years-long car project, mounting pressure from US and EU antitrust enforcers and slipping iPhone sales in China.

Net sales in the greater China region were $16.3bn for the quarter, compared with $17.8bn a year ago.

There have been warning signs about its China business. A report from Counterpoint Research last month said that iPhone sales in the country fell 19 per cent year on year in the first three months of the year, while market researcher International Data Corporation reported that the company lost its lead in the global smartphone market to Samsung as Chinese rivals such as Xiaomi and Huawei made gains as the wider market rebounded.

Apple chief financial officer Luca Maestri told the Financial Times that iPhone sales were still strong in China, despite it being “the most competitive smartphone market in the world”, with the number of active Apple devices at an “all-time high”.

The $110bn share buyback showed that “we feel very good about the status of the company, [and] we have great confidence in what we have in store for our customers”, Maestri said, adding that “a very busy period” was coming in terms of new products.

Apple has also come under intense pressure from regulators on both sides of the Atlantic. The US Department of Justice brought an antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant in March. That same month, the EU opened an investigation over Apple’s potential failure to comply with the Digital Markets Act. It also fined Apple €1.8bn over the rules it applies to rival music streaming services on its App Store.

Analysts are hopeful that Apple can boost sales of its smartphones and laptops by announcing long-anticipated generative artificial intelligence features, potentially at its developers’ conference in June. Chief executive Tim Cook has promised to share details of the company’s work in the AI space later this year.

“We’re very bullish about our opportunity in generative AI,” Maestri said.

Several of the boaters seen in a viral video of boaters dumping trash into the ocean off the Florida coast have been identified, authorities said.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission chair Rodney Barreto told NBC’s “TODAY” show that the video “has become a worldwide story. I mean, the world is watching this.”

Officials did not publicly identify the people they said were involved.

The wildlife agency said it is working with the state attorney’s office to “identify appropriate charges” in the incident that happened Sunday at the Boca Inlet.

FWC spokesperson Tyson Matthews encouraged any individuals who were involved to contact the agency.

The video, which was posted on YouTube by content creator Wavy Boats, shows two people each dumping a trash bin full of garbage into the sea.

The boaters in the video attended the annual Boca Bash, according to its organizers, who said they are working to identify those in the video.

“We cannot be more angered and disturbed by these actions,” according to a statement on The Boca Bash’s Facebook page. “Once the video was posted we quickly got to work with the community to discover who the owner of the boat was and who was on the vessel in this particular instance committing an egregious act. Several people that helped in identifying them had already contacted authorities to handle the situation.”

Organizers also said they would like to see the boaters involved face “repercussions.”

“We do not condone this behavior by any means and are appalled that the passengers even had the audacity to clap at the drone that was filming them dumping their garbage. We hope the repercussions handed down can be viewed publicly as a warning of how important our waters are to us native Floridians.”

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Police began breaking up an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of California, Los Angeles early on Thursday morning, in the latest clampdown on student demonstrators across the country.

Officers in riot gear removed tents and obstacles and detained protesters, leading them away with zip ties around their wrists, following disruption that has led the university to cancel classes. They used “flash-bang” devices to disorient people in the crowds, local media reported.

The intervention came as several colleges across the country have taken the unusual step of authorising police to enter campuses, break up demonstrations against Israel’s offensive in Gaza and make arrests, sparking memories of the response to protests against the Vietnam war in 1968.

New York police made 282 arrests at Columbia University on Tuesday night amid protests that mayor Eric Adams blamed on “outside agitators”.
Columbia has been a focal point of demonstrations triggered by the war between Hamas and Israel, but the university’s move to suspend students and call in police sparked copycat occupations and clampdowns in the US and at universities abroad.

At UCLA, tensions escalated after clashes broke out when counter-protesters stormed the pro-Palestinian encampment early on Wednesday. The university has said that the encampment was “unlawful” and warned that students involved could face sanctions including dismissal.

The university moved classes online for the remainder of the week and warned faculty, staff and students to avoid the protest area during the “evacuation”.

Groups of students around the country have been demanding in many cases that their universities divest their funds from Israel-linked companies, but the demonstrations have also sparked incidents of antisemitism and drawn criticism including from President Joe Biden.

Police intervened on Wednesday at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, reports said, after incidents on Tuesday including arrests at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. More than 1,600 people have been arrested at 30 colleges across the US since April 18, according to a tally by the Associated Press.

The clashes at UCLA came after two weeks of controversy at the nearby University of Southern California, where administrators cancelled a graduation speech by the valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, a Muslim woman, citing security concerns.