Apple reported $109.4 billion in quarterly revenue during its fiscal third-quarter earnings call, marking a 16 percent increase year over year, according to Mashable. The financial figures capped off the final earnings report of Tim Cook’s 15-year tenure as chief executive officer, which included his 90th appearance in the CEO’s chair, as reported by idropnews.com.
Tim Cook Bids Farewell with Record Q3 Revenue
Net quarterly profit climbed 27 percent to $29.8 billion, according to malaymail.com. Kevan Parekh, Apple’s chief financial officer, noted that the company set new June quarter records for both earnings per share and operating cash flow, with active devices reaching all-time highs across all major product categories and geographic segments, as detailed by idropnews.com. Apple’s performance during the April-through-June period was also boosted by tariff refunds imposed last year by Donald Trump and subsequently overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in February, according to malaymail.com.
Hardware Strength and Hybrid AI Strategy
Driving the top-line results, iPhone sales jumped 22 percent to $54.3 billion, while Mac revenue climbed 29 percent, according to malaymail.com. Cook attributed the momentum in the iPhone lineup to continuous demand for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, and the iPhone 17e, while Mac growth was supported by the MacBook Neo, M5 MacBook Air, Mac mini, and Mac Studio, as noted by idropnews.com. Apple’s services business grew 12 percent to $30.7 billion, according to malaymail.com.
During the call, Cook addressed Apple’s artificial intelligence plans, emphasizing a hybrid AI strategy that allows workloads to run on iPhones and Macs rather than relying exclusively on massive cloud infrastructure, according to CNBC. The ability to run some percentage of requests on device is also very strategic and sort of a competitive weapon,
Cook told investors, as reported by CNBC. Unlike hyperscaler peers such as Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft, which have committed to heavy capital expenditures on data centers, Apple’s June quarter capital expenditures amounted to $2.46 billion, staying below StreetAccount estimates, according to CNBC.
Supply Constraints and Leadership Transition
Despite the record revenue, Apple shares fell by as much as seven to eight percent in after-hours trading after management forecasted current-quarter revenue growth of between nine and 11 percent, falling below Wall Street expectations due to supply constraints, according to malaymail.com and businessinsider.com. Cook explained to analysts that the constraints stemmed from unexpectedly strong demand and a demand forecast issue regarding advanced nodes used for systems-on-a-chip, rather than regular supply disruptions, as reported by businessinsider.com.
The call set the stage for John Ternus, Apple’s current senior vice president of hardware engineering, to take over as chief executive officer on September 1, with Cook transitioning to the role of executive chairman, according to malaymail.com and Mashable. This will be my final earnings call, and John will lead these calls going forward,
Cook said near the close of the event, according to Mashable. Ternus attended the earnings call and fielded a question regarding competition in the AI device space by stating that he would reiterate Cook’s points on the company’s focus and opportunities, as reported by Mashable.
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