Tim Cook’s Swan Song At Apple Sees Quarterly IPhone Sales Surge; Highflying Stock Dip

Apple saw revenue jump 16% to pass $109 billion for its fiscal third quarter ended in June. EPS of $2.02 included a tariff refund of 11 cents a share. It’s a momentous quarter beyond the numbers as it is CEO Tim Cook’s last presiding as chief executive. His successor John Ternus takes the reins Sept. 1.

Revenue at Services (of $30.7 billion), which houses Apple TV+, came in a bit shy of Wall Street forecasts, knocking Apple’s highflying stock down 4% after hours, and after a major runup this year. IPhone sales continued to rise, jumping to $54.3 billion from $44.6 billion the year earlier.

“Today, Apple is proud to report our strongest June quarter ever, with double-digit revenue growth across iPhone, Mac and Services, and in every geographic segment,” said Cook said.

The numbers top off an eventful week as the company briefly hit a market cap of $5 trillion.

On Tuesday, it introduced a leasing program called Apple Upgrade for its iPhones and other devices after raising the prices of key products in June. The consumer electronics business is being squeezed by a shortage of memory and storage chips, which are being gobbled up in the AI arms race.

Cook and Ternus – a 25-year Apple veteran and current head of hardware –also hit the gala premiere of Ted Lasso Season 4.

Apple’s stock price has been on a roll (up 24% year to date) unlike some other tech giants as the industry invests heavily in data centers and chips as an AI arms race unfolds. Apple has announced a redesigned Siri (using Google technology) and other AI features.

Investors will be looking for more commentary around product demand and tariffs as well as AI on a call set for 5 pm ET. It will be Cook’s 90th and last earnings call after 15 years as CEO, and 28 years at the company.

More to come