New Delhi: Apple’s latest quarterly report gave Wall Street a lot to chew on. The company beat analyst estimates on overall revenue and earnings, issued a stronger-than-expected forecast for the June quarter, and announced another $100 billion stock buyback plan. Its shares rose about 3 per cent in extended trading after the results, according to the figures shared by Apple.
The big miss came from the iPhone business, where revenue landed at $56.99 billion against expectations of $57.21 billion. That still marked a 22 percent year-on-year jump, helped by the iPhone 17 lineup. Apple CEO Tim Cook told investors that iPhone 17 is now the “most popular lineup in our history” and said the company beat its guidance “despite supply constraints.”
Apple beats estimates, but iPhone misses Street view
Apple reported earnings per share of $2.01, ahead of the $1.95 expected by analysts. Revenue came in at $111.18 billion, higher than the $109.66 billion estimate, according to LSEG consensus figures.
The company’s services business brought in $30.98 billion, beating expectations of $30.39 billion. Mac revenue stood at $8.4 billion, iPad revenue came in at $6.91 billion, and wearables, home and accessories revenue reached $7.9 billion.
The company said revenue rose 17 per cent from $95.4 billion a year earlier.
India gets a special mention again
India was clearly one of the brighter spots in Apple’s commentary. Cook said Apple grew in double digits across every geographic segment, including Greater China and the rest of Asia-Pacific. He said Apple also saw double-digit growth in nearly every emerging market it tracks, “including India.”
Cook added, “We were also thrilled to open the doors to our sixth store in India. It has been wonderful to see how we’ve continued to grow in India in recent years, part of our larger efforts to connect with even more customers and emerging markets all over the world.”
For Apple, India is no longer just a long-term bet in investor calls. It is now coming up across iPhone, Mac and iPad demand.
Tim Cook calls India a huge opportunity
Cook gave a bigger view of the India story during the analyst call. He said, “it’s a huge opportunity for us,” adding that India is the second-largest smartphone market and the third-largest PC market in the world.
He also said Apple still has a “modest share” in the country, which points to more room for growth. His strongest line came near the end: “Net-net, I’m over the moon excited about India.”
That quote will likely get attention in India’s tech and business circles, especially as Apple keeps growing its retail and device footprint in the country.
Memory prices now become a bigger concern
Apple’s strong forecast came with a warning. Cook said memory costs had a minimal impact in the December quarter and a bigger hit in March. For the current quarter, he said, “we expect significantly higher memory costs.”
This matters since AI demand is putting pressure on global memory supply. Meta and Microsoft also flagged higher memory prices in their capex commentary.
For buyers, this does not mean Apple has announced price hikes. But investors will watch how the company manages device margins if component costs keep rising.
New CEO era comes closer
This was Apple’s first earnings call after the company announced that Tim Cook will step down as CEO after 15 years. John Ternus will take over, while Cook will become executive chairman on September 1.
Cook told shareholders, “We have the right leader ready to step into the role.” Ternus said Apple has an “incredible roadmap ahead,” adding, “this is the most exciting time in my 25-year career at Apple to be building products and services.”
For now, Apple’s numbers look strong. The bigger question is simple: can the company keep the India growth, iPhone momentum and services gains running at the same time as memory costs rise?