Apple reports massive spike in iPhone revenue, particularly in China
Apple released its first quarter earnings on Thursday, exceeding Wall Street’s expectations and seeing its revenue skyrocket 16% from the same time last year.“Apple is proud to report a remarkable, record-breaking quarter, with revenue of $143.8bn,” Tim Cook, the company’s CEO, said in a statement.“iPhone had its best-ever quarter driven by unprecedented demand, with all-time records across every geographic segment.”The tech titan’s reported revenue went far beyond analyst’s forecasts of $138.
4bn.Apple’s earnings per share, $2.84, also surpassed Wall Street’s estimate of $2.68 per share.Last year, during the company’s first quarter, it reported $124.
3bn, typically Apple’s biggest of the year after holiday shopping,iPhone revenue shot up 23% since the same period last year,The company pointed to strong sales of its new line-up of the iPhone 17, which debuted in September,The slate of new smartphones, in particular the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro, has reinvigorated demand for Apple’s products, especially in China, where sales had been lagging behind projections,This quarter the company drove strong results in China with sales in the region climbing 38%.
In a call with investors on Thursday, Cook said the growth was largely driven by iPhone sales,“It was the best iPhone quarter in history in greater China,” Cook said,“Our install base reached an all-time high in both greater China and mainland China,”Worldwide, Cook said the number of Apple’s active devices, including iPhones, Macs and other products, has reached 2,5bn, up from 2.
35bn that the company announced a year ago,It is widely rumored that Apple is planning to debut its first folding phone sometime in 2026, which would bring it in line with Samsung, Motorola, Google and other companies, which have offered folding smartphones for years,Over the past year, all eyes have been on Apple’s roadmap for integrating artificial intelligence into its products,The company has shown steady financial growth as iPhone sales have remained strong, but investors have worried that Apple is getting left behind its competitors when it comes to AI,The company announced earlier this month that the rebooted version of its voice assistant, Siri, will be powered by Google’s Gemini AI models.
On the earnings call, Cook said a “more personalized Siri” is coming this year and the company believes the refreshed assistant “can unlock a lot of experiences and innovate in a clear way with the collaboration”.Thomas Monteiro, a senior analyst at Investing.com, said Wall Street may be overly fixated on splashy AI instead of the strong demand for iPhones, adding that Apple’s strong quarterly revenue will likely help it weather growing AI spending.“Despite market participants continually punishing Apple stock for the company’s perceived lagging suite of AI offerings, the unseen iPhone 17 demand shows that the actual consumer market is prioritizing execution, pricing discipline, and ecosystem reliability over headline, often incremental AI features,” he said.Last quarter, Apple reported a new record for fourth quarter revenue, coming in at $102.
5bn,The news came just days after the company hit a $4tn market value for the first time,Apple’s stock kept rising to hit an all-time high in early December,It’s fallen 10% since then, but is still up year-over-year,In extended trading on Thursday, Apple’s stock rose more than 1%.
Universal basic income could be used to soften hit from AI job losses in UK, minister says
The UK could introduce a universal basic income (UBI) to protect workers in industries that are being disrupted by AI, the investment minister Jason Stockwood has said.“Bumpy” changes to society caused by the introduction of the technology would mean there would have to be “some sort of concessionary arrangement with jobs that go immediately”, Lord Stockwood said.The Labour peer told the Financial Times: “Undoubtedly we’re going to have to think really carefully about how we soft-land those industries that go away, so some sort of [universal basic income], some sort of lifelong mechanism as well so people can retrain.”A universal basic income is not part of official government policy, but when asked whether people in government were considering the need for UBI, Stockwood told the FT: “People are definitely talking about it.”The technology entrepreneur, who took up his ministerial post in September, said part of his motivation for joining the government was to help ensure the workforce was prepared for rapid change
Meta wows Wall Street despite spending billions on AI and facing social media addiction trial
As Meta spends billions on artificial intelligence datacenters and its CEO prepares to testify in a landmark social media trial, the company is earning a pretty penny.Meta reported strong financial results on Wednesday, beating Wall Street expectations of $58.59bn with $59.89bn in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2025. It reported earnings per share (EPS) of $8
Tesla discontinues Model X and S vehicles as Elon Musk pivots to robotics
In the clearest sign yet that Tesla is pivoting away from its electric car business, its CEO, Elon Musk, announced on Wednesday’s investor call that the company would discontinue production of its Model X SUV and Model S full-size sedan.“It’s time to basically bring the Model S and X programs to an end,” Musk said. “We expect to wind down S and X production next quarter.”The model S and X factory in Fremont, California, would be converted to produce Tesla’s upcoming Optimus robot, Musk said.Tesla’s most recent quarterly earnings report showed slumping vehicle sales and declining revenue as Musk pins the company’s futures on AI and robotics
Microsoft shrugs off AI bubble fears again with strong financial results
Investor interest in Microsoft shares may have weakened in recent months, but the company posted strong financial results on Wednesday which yet again demonstrated that the AI boom is roaring on.Microsoft reported earnings for the second quarter of the fiscal year that are likely to keep the party going for Wall Street, despite slowing growth in its key cloud computing business.Microsoft reported revenues of $81.27bn against expectations of $80.32bn, and improved from the 12
Artificial intelligence will cost jobs, admits Liz Kendall
Increasing deployment of artificial intelligence will cause job losses, the UK technology secretary has warned, saying: “I want to level with the public. Some jobs will go.”In a speech on government plans to handle the impact of AI on the British economy, Liz Kendall declined to say how many redundancies the technology might cause but said: “We know people are worried about graduate entry jobs in places like law and finance.”She said: “Others will be created in their place”.While some forecasts have suggested the fast-developing technology could create a net increase in employment, Kendall said: “I’m not complacent about that
US TikTok users: tell us how you feel about the app after the new US deal
TikTok users in the US appear to be deleting the app at higher rates after the announcement of a new deal securing its future in the country, according to reports. The short-form video app, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has faced years of uncertainty in the US amid concerns over data security and a possible ban.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more
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