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Apple (US:AAPL) reported a 17 per cent increase in sales for the three months of $111bn, which was ahead of analysts’ expectations.

The growth was driven by what outgoing chief executive Tim Cook described as “extraordinary demand for the iPhone 17”. Overall, iPhone sales rose by 22 per cent to $57bn. Services revenue also grew by 16 per cent to $31bn, helping to push its operating margin to 44.7 per cent.

Morningstar analyst William Kerwin said iPhone sales have demonstrated their strongest growth for five years and should top 20 per cent for Apple’s current financial year. However, he sees the shares as being fairly valued at 32 times forecast earnings. They have been flat since the start of this year.

Rotork (ROR) shares rose 3 per cent on the back of an in-line trading update as the company managed to assuage fears of disruption from the war in Iran and the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.

The flow control specialist, which makes just under half of its revenue in the oil and gas sector, said order intake was down by “a low single-digit percentage”. It also said some Middle Eastern customers had delayed projects until later in the year, but added that it was “well positioned to support customers with maintenance and repair activities as production recovers”.

Rotork’s shares had dropped by a fifth since the US and Israel began the war in Iran, although the company only generates about 10 per cent of its sales in the region, according to Shore Capital. RBC’s Mark Fielding said the projects being pushed back represent about 1 per cent of revenue.

Full-year guidance was maintained. FactSet consensus forecasts are for a 4 per cent increase in earnings per share to 17.6p, meaning the shares currently trade at 18 times earnings.

Pearson (PSON) shares rose 5 per cent this morning after the FTSE 100 education giant reaffirmed its full-year guidance and reported double-digit revenue growth in its virtual learning division in the first quarter.

Group underlying sales rose 4 per cent, despite a 1 per cent dip in its largest division, assessment and qualifications. This was largely due to the loss of a New Jersey contract, but Pearson expects this division to return to growth in the second quarter.

The virtual learning arm soared by 21 per cent, driven by higher enrolments in the 2025/26 academic year. Enterprise learning and skills grew 8 per cent, while the higher education and English language learning businesses were both up 2 per cent.

Management reiterated guidance for mid-single digit underlying sales growth, adjusted operating profit of ÂŁ640-685mn at constant currency and free cash flow conversion of between 90 and 100 per cent for 2026.

UK house prices edged higher in April despite broader economic uncertainty, Nationwide said, rising 0.4 per cent month on month to ÂŁ279,000. This leaves average house prices 3 per cent higher than a year ago.

Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardiner said the rise was “somewhat surprising given that indicators of consumer confidence have weakened noticeably”.

Gardiner attributed the increase to “the relative strength of household finances”, including low levels of household debt and higher levels of savings. He also pointed to the improvements in housing affordability in recent years.

Shares in small housebuilder MJ Gleeson (GLE) rose 4 per cent in early trading after the company said it was on track to meet consensus profit before tax expectations of ÂŁ18mn for the year ended June.

The guidance assumes that one large land sale will complete by the end of the year, and excludes an additional provision for remediation works of between ÂŁ5mn and ÂŁ7mn.

Gleeson, which focuses on low-cost homes in the north of England, said it had experienced “modest” cost inflation since January, during which time its selling prices were flat, which implies falling margins.

Chief executive Graham Prothero said that it was “too early” to forecast the effects of the Middle East conflict, but that the company had seen “some softening in footfall and reservations, and limited increases in the cost of some materials”.