Apple, record iPhone drags quarterly accounts. Israeli start-up acquired for 2 billion
With the second largest acquisition ever, for 2 billion it took over the Israeli start-up Q.ai, whose tech interprets facial movements and silent communication
Apple beat budget expectations with an exploit of its flagship product, the iPhone, particularly in China. In the quarter ended in December, the first of the company's 2026 fiscal year, revenue from its smartphone, the new iPhone 17 model, rose 23% to 85.3 billion, a record that went well beyond the 78.3 billion forecast and pushed group sales to 144 billion, a 16% increase. Earnings rose 19 per cent to $42.10 billion, or $2.84 per share against an anticipated $2.68. Despite the results, the stock moved little in after-market trading on Wall Street, gaining 0.6 per cent, amid investors perhaps nervous about Big Tech's excesses.
"We had a record-breaking quarter," said CEO Tim Cook, citing in particular the "fantastic" success of the iPhone. "Demand was simply extraordinary," said CFO Kevan Parekh, citing a number of active devices that topped 2.5 billion units, itself a new record, up from 2.35 billion a year earlier. An army that should also ensure the continued march of business in services, from subscriptions to advertising, which in the past three months exceeded the $30 billion mark, up 14 per cent. Apple TV reported a 36 per cent increase in viewers in December over the previous year.
The premium and more expensive models also led the way in sales, as never before and inflating the results: 52% of iPhones adopted by consumers are the Pro and Pro Max. far more than the 39% represented by similar models previously. The only misstep was the ultra-thin iPhone Air, which failed to catch on.
More specifically, Apple posted all-time highs in iPhone sales in the US, the China region, Latin America, Western Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Australia. In the China region, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, revenue, which fell in three of the last four quarters, surged 38 per cent to 25.5 billion.
Not all segments shone. Mac laptop sales slipped 7 per cent. Spending on research and development also increased by 19 per cent last quarter, to 10.9 billion, driven by AI on which the company lags behind, although it remained relatively low compared to what other tech giants have announced.
