Cupertino’s comeback kid: With iPhones doing the heavy lifting, Apple shrugs
off the gloom and posts a clean beat for Q3
Apple has done it again, snatching another quarterly win from the jaws
of analyst doubt. The tech giant’s third
quarter earnings report dropped yesterday and brought some much-needed good
news for investors: revenue came in at $94 billion, beating expectations and up
10% year on year, largely thanks to an unexpected jump in iPhone sales.
8 billion people.
3 billion iPhones sold.
That’s 1 iPhone for every 3 humans on earth. pic.twitter.com/ZEjhhShv4F
— Apple Design (@TheAppleDesign) July 31, 2025
You read that right. The iPhone, the product Wall Street loves to
prematurely eulogize, posted a year-over-year sales increase, pulling in $44.58
billion this quarter, up 13.5%. That’s around $4 billion more than analysts had
anticipated. Apparently, there are still enough people on the planet willing to
shell out over a grand for marginal camera upgrades. Apologies for the snark,
the latest models are great, as usual but, as usual, they’re overpriced.
iPhone sales carried the day (Apple).
CEO Tim Cook, naturally, was ready with the victory lap. “Today Apple
is proud to report a June quarter revenue record with double-digit growth in
iPhone, Mac and Services and growth around the world, in every geographic
segment,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “At WWDC25, we were excited to introduce
a beautiful new software design that extends across all of our platforms, and
we announced even more great Apple Intelligence features.”
All good news? Sure. But, iPhone is the key.
The Stock Likes It
Apple’s share price reacted accordingly. After the earnings were
released, shares rose around 2-3% in after-hours trading.
Investors found comfort in Apple’s forward guidance. The company hinted
at continued strength in iPhone sales for the next quarter and suggested that
wearables and iPads, which declined this time, could see an improvement ahead.
No flashy artificial intelligence (AI ) announcement, no “one more thing”, no big pivot, just
solid numbers and a calm tone from the executive suite. In this market, that’s
practically a flex.
Not All Sunshine and Titanium
It
wasn’t a flawless quarter. Mac sales of $8.05 billion beat expectations of
$7.26 billion, and wearables (yes, that includes your Apple Watch and AirPods) did
$7.4 billion, missing estimates of $7.82 billion. Services, long considered the
company’s golden goose, pulled in $27.42 billion, topping analyst expectations
of $26.8 billion. iPads hit $6.58 billion in sales, missing expectations of
$7.24 billion
Mac sales beat expectations, and next quarter should improve with back-to-school sales (Apple).
As a Mac user for over 25 years, I’m happy to say that the Apple silicon
MacBook Pros are … great. They’re fast, powerful, offer a load of options in
terms of RAM and storage … but they’re incredibly expensive for what you’re
getting and the upgrade pricing is eye watering. Perhaps in these challenging
times, that’s becoming more of a factor. But if you’re wedded to Mac OS, or love
a good piece of aluminum, you’re probably all in.
Apple CEO: “…a June quarter revenue record with double-digit growth in iPhone, Mac & Services & growth around the world, in every geographic segment”
—Net sales: +9.6% to $94B—Operating income: +11.5% to $28.2B—Net income: +5.8% to $23.4B$AAPL: +2% AH pic.twitter.com/3hmeV3zDRP
— The Transcript (@TheTranscript_) July 31, 2025
Still, the real story here is how the iPhone is carrying the whole
ecosystem. Critics have spent years calling Apple a one-trick pony, and while
the company has made attempts to diversify (hello, Vision Pro), it turns out
the old pony can still shift when it needs to.
Added to that, the firm unveiled the impact of tariffs, with a $1.1 billion increase in costs just from tariffs for the current quarter.
So while Cook and co. talk up services, privacy, and environmental
goals, the quarterly earnings math remains simple: sell iPhones, win quarter.
What Comes Next?
With Q3 in the bag, all eyes are on the September quarter, typically
Apple’s most lucrative thanks to new product launches. The company didn’t give
away much, as usual, but reading between the lines, they’re expecting a strong
iPhone 16 cycle and probably a little help from back-to-school Mac and iPad
sales.
Meanwhile, Apple continues to invest heavily in AI, cloud
infrastructure, and who knows what else in its top-secret R&D bunker. But
for now, Wall Street is just relieved that people are still buying iPhones in a
saturated smartphone market.
Maybe the iPhone isn’t dead. Maybe it just needed another incremental
upgrade.
For more news around the edges of finance, visit our Trending section.
Cupertino’s comeback kid: With iPhones doing the heavy lifting, Apple shrugs
off the gloom and posts a clean beat for Q3
Apple has done it again, snatching another quarterly win from the jaws
of analyst doubt. The tech giant’s third
quarter earnings report dropped yesterday and brought some much-needed good
news for investors: revenue came in at $94 billion, beating expectations and up
10% year on year, largely thanks to an unexpected jump in iPhone sales.
8 billion people.
3 billion iPhones sold.
That’s 1 iPhone for every 3 humans on earth. pic.twitter.com/ZEjhhShv4F
— Apple Design (@TheAppleDesign) July 31, 2025
You read that right. The iPhone, the product Wall Street loves to
prematurely eulogize, posted a year-over-year sales increase, pulling in $44.58
billion this quarter, up 13.5%. That’s around $4 billion more than analysts had
anticipated. Apparently, there are still enough people on the planet willing to
shell out over a grand for marginal camera upgrades. Apologies for the snark,
the latest models are great, as usual but, as usual, they’re overpriced.
iPhone sales carried the day (Apple).
CEO Tim Cook, naturally, was ready with the victory lap. “Today Apple
is proud to report a June quarter revenue record with double-digit growth in
iPhone, Mac and Services and growth around the world, in every geographic
segment,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “At WWDC25, we were excited to introduce
a beautiful new software design that extends across all of our platforms, and
we announced even more great Apple Intelligence features.”
All good news? Sure. But, iPhone is the key.
The Stock Likes It
Apple’s share price reacted accordingly. After the earnings were
released, shares rose around 2-3% in after-hours trading.
Investors found comfort in Apple’s forward guidance. The company hinted
at continued strength in iPhone sales for the next quarter and suggested that
wearables and iPads, which declined this time, could see an improvement ahead.
No flashy artificial intelligence (AI ) announcement, no “one more thing”, no big pivot, just
solid numbers and a calm tone from the executive suite. In this market, that’s
practically a flex.
Not All Sunshine and Titanium
It
wasn’t a flawless quarter. Mac sales of $8.05 billion beat expectations of
$7.26 billion, and wearables (yes, that includes your Apple Watch and AirPods) did
$7.4 billion, missing estimates of $7.82 billion. Services, long considered the
company’s golden goose, pulled in $27.42 billion, topping analyst expectations
of $26.8 billion. iPads hit $6.58 billion in sales, missing expectations of
$7.24 billion
Mac sales beat expectations, and next quarter should improve with back-to-school sales (Apple).
As a Mac user for over 25 years, I’m happy to say that the Apple silicon
MacBook Pros are … great. They’re fast, powerful, offer a load of options in
terms of RAM and storage … but they’re incredibly expensive for what you’re
getting and the upgrade pricing is eye watering. Perhaps in these challenging
times, that’s becoming more of a factor. But if you’re wedded to Mac OS, or love
a good piece of aluminum, you’re probably all in.
Apple CEO: “…a June quarter revenue record with double-digit growth in iPhone, Mac & Services & growth around the world, in every geographic segment”
—Net sales: +9.6% to $94B—Operating income: +11.5% to $28.2B—Net income: +5.8% to $23.4B$AAPL: +2% AH pic.twitter.com/3hmeV3zDRP
— The Transcript (@TheTranscript_) July 31, 2025
Still, the real story here is how the iPhone is carrying the whole
ecosystem. Critics have spent years calling Apple a one-trick pony, and while
the company has made attempts to diversify (hello, Vision Pro), it turns out
the old pony can still shift when it needs to.
Added to that, the firm unveiled the impact of tariffs, with a $1.1 billion increase in costs just from tariffs for the current quarter.
So while Cook and co. talk up services, privacy, and environmental
goals, the quarterly earnings math remains simple: sell iPhones, win quarter.
What Comes Next?
With Q3 in the bag, all eyes are on the September quarter, typically
Apple’s most lucrative thanks to new product launches. The company didn’t give
away much, as usual, but reading between the lines, they’re expecting a strong
iPhone 16 cycle and probably a little help from back-to-school Mac and iPad
sales.
Meanwhile, Apple continues to invest heavily in AI, cloud
infrastructure, and who knows what else in its top-secret R&D bunker. But
for now, Wall Street is just relieved that people are still buying iPhones in a
saturated smartphone market.
Maybe the iPhone isn’t dead. Maybe it just needed another incremental
upgrade.
For more news around the edges of finance, visit our Trending section.
