Quarterly reports

Amazon: profits exceed forecasts. Apple: the iPhone isn’t enough. Share price down

Bezos’s group is making a strong case on the investment and AI fronts. For the company with the bitten apple logo, the rise in iPhone sales is not enough

by Vittorio Carlini

30 July 2026

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3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

After Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft, it was Apple and Amazon’s turn.

Amazon accounts

The company founded by Jeff Bezos has reported figures that exceeded forecasts, confirming the strong momentum of its artificial intelligence business. Revenue reached $200.6 billion (up 25 per cent on the same period in 2025), whilst earnings per share stood at $5.75, well above analysts’ forecasts.

Growth was driven primarily by Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud division, which recorded a 37 per cent increase in sales to 42.2 billion, thanks to growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The market reacted positively to the results, driving the share price higher in after-hours trading.

However, expenditure on investments in data centres and artificial intelligence remains high, continuing to put pressure on cash flows. In this regard, Amazon has confirmed capital expenditure of around 200 billion for 2026. Overall, however, the figures indicate that the group’s artificial intelligence strategy is yielding tangible results, although investors will continue to monitor closely the impact of these massive investments on future margins.

Outlook

With regard to the outlook for the future, the group expects third-quarter revenue to be between 197.0 and 202.0 billion, representing growth of between 9 per cent and 12 per cent compared with the third quarter of 2025. Excluding the impact of Prime Day in both 2025 and 2026, the year-on-year increase for the third quarter of 2026 would be almost 4 percentage points (400 basis points) higher. The estimates take into account a negative impact of around 80 basis points due to exchange rate fluctuations. Operating profit, for its part, is expected to be in the range of 22.5 to 26.5 billion, compared with the 17.4 billion recorded in the third quarter of 2025.

Apple’s figures

The company with the bitten apple logo has also published its quarterly results for the third quarter of the 2025–2026 financial year. Specifically, Apple reported revenue of 109.4 billion, up 16 per cent on the same period last year. The company’s gross margin stood at 50.1 per cent, benefiting from a positive impact of around 2 percentage points due to refunds on tariffs. Diluted earnings per share, meanwhile, stood at $2.02, up 29% year-on-year, including a positive contribution of $0.11 per share from refunds on tariffs.

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The negative reaction

However, investors – despite the profit and loss figures exceeding estimates – have reacted negatively. Apple’s share price is down in after-hours trading. Why? It was not so much the results themselves as their quality and future prospects that weighed on the market. The gross margin of 50.1 per cent and EPS benefited, in fact, by approximately 2 percentage points and $0.11 per share respectively, thanks to refunds on tariffs – a one-off contribution that is unlikely to be repeated.

There was also disappointment in the Services division, which reported revenue of 30.7 billion, up 12 per cent, but slightly below market expectations. In the background, the issue of artificial intelligence remains: investors are still awaiting concrete evidence of Apple’s ability to turn its announcements about Siri AI into a driver of revenue growth. In other words, the quarter was very solid, but not quite enough to meet expectations which, following the sharp rise in the share price, had become particularly high.

Last but not least, the iPhone. The smartphone has once again proved to be the main driver of Apple’s growth, with revenue up 21.7 per cent to $54.25 billion, exceeding the $53.86 billion forecast by analysts. On the cost front, however, the group warned that the sharp rise in DRAM and NAND memory prices, fuelled by demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure, will continue to put pressure on margins. Apple explained that it has so far mitigated the impact thanks to previously purchased stock, but acknowledged that this advantage will gradually diminish over the coming quarters.

Vittorio CarliniRedattore
Luogo: Milano
Lingue parlate: Italiano, Inglese
Argomenti: Finanza, Tecnologia, Analisi fondamentale
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