Here are the products getting repeat customers into Apple stores. AI image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac
Record numbers of customers upgrading their gear helped push up Apple’s revenue into record territory last quarter, and that’s boosting AAPL’s stock price.
Here are the products that the company says are the most popular with upgraders in Q4 2025. Some you might be able to guess, but there’s a very conspicuous absence from the list.
Learn the financial lingo to get the most out of earnings call chatter. Photo: Kevin Dooley/Flickr CC
When companies talk about quarterly earnings, executives often deploy language designed to puff up, excuse or obfuscate their companies’ recent performance. The goal is to excite investors over implied future success. And ultimately to give the company more money. Always. More. Money. The Apple quarterly earnings call takes place Thursday afternoon.
But when you’re the iPhone giant — with a mind-blowing market cap and a seemingly never-ending supply of hit products, including ongoing growth in services — you typically don’t need to craft hopeful-yet-non-material statements or deflect questions designed to get at the true bottom line.
So CEO Tim Cook and new CFO Kevan Parekh will report on all the numbers (former CFO Luca Maestri stepped down January 1, 2025). Because many tariff impacts are yet to come, analysts predict a 4% revenue increase year-over-year, plus a jump in earnings per share. Note that Apple starts its fiscal year with Q1 in the previous year’s holiday season, so calendar quarters trail its fiscal quarters.
Another big Apple project bites the dust. AI image: Midjourney/Cult of Mac
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Apple pulls the plug on a secret AR glasses project. What does this mean for Vision Pro?
Also on The CultCast:
Erfon discusses the pros and cons of the 13-inch iPad Pro.
Apple’s latest earnings call yields some astonishing factoids.
Apple still plans to fix Siri — and to roll out the delayed CarPlay 2.
We end with a laugh at one of the craziest iPhone cases we’ve ever seen.
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
Analysts expect big things when Apple announces its earnings Thursday. Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Financial analysts predict Apple revenue increased 4% during the all-important 2024 holiday quarter versus the same period of the previous year. Wall Street also expects a jump in Apple’s earnings per share. We’ll find out whether the iPhone maker met these expectations when Apple reveals its Q1 2025 financial results after the U.S. markets close Thursday afternoon.
Analysts predict Apple had another quarter of solid revenue growth. Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Wall Street analysts think the financial results Apple will announce Thursday will include record revenue for the quarter. They also expect year-over-year growth in iPhone revenue.
Their optimism helps explain the AAPL share price, which is high enough to make the Mac-maker the world’s most valuable publicly traded company.
Wall Street thinks Apple is about to announce weak results, but AI could bring a turnaround. Photo: Anna
Nekrashevich/Pexels
The first three months of 2024 were probably not good ones for Apple. When the company reveals the financial results from its March quarter on Thursday, analysts predict a 5% annual drop in revenue will be one of the announcements.
But part of the reason for weak sales is customers anticipating AI-powered iPhones and Macs later this year. CEO Tim Cook almost certainly will drop hints about what’s coming in a conference call also scheduled for Thursday.
AirTags with new functionality and Apple Watches in new colors sound good to us. Image: Cult of Mac
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Which gets you more excited, an AirTag with new AR capabilities, a pink Apple Watch or a black titanium Apple Watch Ultra? This week’s top Apple rumors fuel our imaginations …
Also on The CultCast:
Apple touts 1 billion paid subscribers, a gigantic number that pushed the company to record-high revenue for its services division last quarter.
Leander cooks up a cheap-and-dirty way to add CarPlay to any car, even an old beater. (Still can’t get him to come on the podcast, though, because … 👀.
Tim Cook finally plays the AI card as Apple tries to cash in on the latest tech buzzword.
Griffin proves he’s a total nerd the consummate tech collector by revealing what he uses an ancient Apple Newton for these days.
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.
Why doesn't Apple go on and on about the "AI revolution"? Because it's already baked-in to Apple products. Image: Michael DziedzicUnsplash License/Modified by Cult of Mac
Apple has been conspicuously quiet about its plans for artificial intelligence, even as rivals like Google and Microsoft made headlines touting the latest tech buzzword. But CEO Tim Cook leaped to his company’s defense Thursday, pointing out that AI is already used by many Apple products.
And he also listed upcoming software and services that wouldn’t be possible without machine learning and AI.
Apple is about to reveal the financial results of its most recent quarter, and Wall Street analysts are preparing for a whole lot of ho-hum. They’re predicting a very slight drop in revenue and earnings, during a traditionally slow time of the year for Apple sales.
That said, Apple has a habit of beating analysts’ predictions. So Thursday’s earnings call could be more upbeat than expected.
These MacBook Air benchmarks show what a screamer the M2 chip really is. Image: Cult of Mac
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The latest benchmarks make Apple’s M2 chip sound better than we thought. In fact, the new MacBook Air that the processor powers might be the perfect laptop for almost everyone.
Also on The CultCast:
The iPhone 14 Pro’s always-on screen looks sweeeeet.
How does Apple keep pulling off earnings miracles?!?
What not to do when a creep steals your AirTag-equipped scooter.
Somebody built an Apple Store time machine.
And a truffle tangent to end all tangents.
Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video livestream, embedded below.
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The earnings call wasn't that exciting, but Apple still dropped some tantalizing tidbits on us. Image: Sharon McCutcheon/Unsplash License/Cult of Mac
Apple earnings calls with analysts can offer fascinating glimpses behind the scenes at the iPhone-maker. Most of the time, though, they are dull as toast. That’s true even for the June quarter, when Apple managed to snatch financial success from the jaws of supply constraints.
But we endured the tedium of the call so you don’t have to. Just read on to get the interesting details almost lost in all the talk of basis points and CAPEX.
Some analysts think Apple will beat earnings expectations, but others are doubtful. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple’s next quarterly earnings report and call with analysts take place on Thursday. (It’s Q3 for Apple’s fiscal year despite being Q2 on your calendar.) And the company has already warned it may take an up to $8 billion revenue hit for several reasons.
As usual, after the fiscal results come out and the stock market closes for the day, Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri will talk with financial analysts on a public call about the results and future expectations.
Supply chain woes cost Apple an estimated $6 billion in revenues last quarter. Photo: Alireza Khoddam/Unsplash CC/Cult of Mac
Apple made a record $20.6 billion in profits last quarter but is getting punished because $83.4 billion in revenue didn’t meet Wall Street analysts’ expectations. Turns out even the Cupertino juggernaut is not immune to supply chain problems — $6 billion worth of them.
Here’s the bad news — and the good — from Apple’s September 2021 earnings report and a Q&A session with analysts afterward.
Apple's stock tanked after the company made boatloads of money. Photo: Yahoo Finance
Apple’s stock is tanking in after-hours trading, despite the company’s announcement of yet another record-breaking quarter. The problem? Wall Street expected it to make way more.
Apple broke records in multiple types of revenue last quarter, from Macs to Services. And its installed base of user hit a new record, too. Photo: Cult of Mac/EverythingSuperMario
Apple just revealed that its made heaps of money last quarter. It broke all kinds of revenue records, and Mac, iPhone and iPad contributed strongly to the total.
But there are also some dark clouds in Apple future. Read on to get the good news and bad from the company’s most recent financial earnings results.
Sales of new M1 Macs powered Apple to yet another record-smashing quarter. Photo: Wes Hicks/Unsplash CC
Apple did it again. It just announced a quarter where it didn’t just beat everyone’s expectations, it blew them away. The Mac had a phenomenal quarter, and so did iPhone and iPad.
But you don’t have to bury yourself in spreadsheets to get the lowdown on what it all means. Just read on.
Multiple products are expected to contribute to Apple announcing stellar financial results for last quarter. Graphic: Cult of Mac
Wall Street thinks Apple recently finished an amazing quarter. If the analysts are right, the company will reveal on Wednesday the results of a January-through-March period with significant revenue growth in all its products, both hardware and services.
Apple roars through another record-setting financial quarter. Here’s what the number mean. Image: Vista Wei/Unsplash CC/Cult of Mac
The results of each Apple financial quarter somehow keep topping the one before. This time, the big news is that revenue blew past $100 billion for the first time, buoyed by record-breaking sales of iPhone and other products.
But there’s more to Apple’s announcement than a parade of figures. Here’s what all those number mean for the company, and for users, based on what Apple’s top brass told investors on Wednesday.
When it comes to Apple earnings, CEO Tim Cook seems to operate a reality distortion field of his own. Photo illustration: Cult of Mac
When Apple holds its fiscal Q4 2020 earnings call on Oct. 29, can the company deliver another pandemic miracle?
We’ll all find out at 2 p.m. Pacific that day, when Apple live-streams its earnings call. (Actually, we’ll undoubtedly find out a half-hour earlier than that, when Cupertino issues its press release outlining its quarterly results).
Following last quarter’s record-setting results, Wall Street will be waiting with bated breath to see if Apple once again found a way to spin gold amid the economic disaster caused by COVID-19.
A decade ago, the iPad changed everything. Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
When the iPad came out 10 years ago, some people dismissed it as nothing but a super-sized iPhone. In reality, Apple’s tablet changed mobile computing forever.
A dive into Apple’s most recent financial results shows what’s really happening with the company. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Apple pulled in more revenue and profits last quarter than it ever has before. These numbers were buoyed by strong iPhone and wearable sales. But the news isn’t all good.
Check out these charts that show with a glance how the company made its money last quarter.
Apple would prefer to build the upcoming Mac Pro in the United States. In fact, the company is trying to make it happen, CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday.
“We’ve been making the Mac Pro in the United States and we want to continue doing that,” Cook said during Apple’s earnings call. “We’re working and investing currently in the capacity to do so. We want to continue to be there.”
At least, that's according to analyst Jim Cramer. Photo: CNBC
Today’s Apple earnings could well be the company’s most boring quarterly report this year. But if you’re looking for a no-risk time to throw some short-term cash at Apple stock, now could be the right moment.
Apple’s business in China is finally turning around, according to execs who say Cupertino’s troubles in the country might be a thing of the past.
“We feel positive about our trajectory,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said during Tuesday’s earnings call, noting that the company’s “year-over-year revenue performance in Greater China improved relative to the December quarter.”
Then Cook laid out four reasons why Apple’s “China problem” is going away.