Luca Maestri

Tim Cook: Apple’s AI revolution is coming later this year [Updated]

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Apple’s AI-driven voice-controlled digital assistant Siri
AI-upgrades could make iOS 18 among the biggest OS releases ever.
Image: Apple

CEO Tim Cook teased Apple’s upcoming AI features during the company’s Q1 2024 earnings call Thursday, saying the company’s efforts will start to bear fruit later this year. It is rare for an Apple executive to provide even hints of the company’s future plans, but Cupertino has something to prove when it comes to artificial intelligence.

Google, Microsoft and other tech giants have invested heavily in AI, while Apple has little to show. However, the release of iOS 18 later in 2024 could change this. Cook says he’s “incredibly excited” about what’s to come.

iPhone up, China down: 7 nuggets from Apple’s earnings call

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Photo of an glass Apple Store with the words
Apple eked out a win thanks to strong iPhone sales last quarter. But not everything was rosy.
Photo: Karl Baron/Flickr CC/Modified by Cult of Mac

Apple’s holiday quarter financial results offer good news for investors. iPhone is doing great! And CEO Tim Cook talked about AI. But there’s rotten news coming out of China.

We pored over the results, and listened to the call Apple executives held Thursday with Wall Street analysts, so you don’t have to. Here’s the information you ought to know.

Brush up on financial lingo for Apple’s quarterly earnings call

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Learn the financial lingo to get the most out of earnings call chatter.
Learn the financial lingo to get the most out of earnings call chatter.
Photo: Kevin Dooley/Flickr CC

During quarterly earnings calls, executives often deploy language designed to puff up, excuse or obfuscate their companies’ recent performance. The goal is to make investors pant with delight over implied future success. And ultimately to give the company more money. Always. More. Money.

But when you’re Apple — 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 bottom line.

Apple’s next earnings call takes place this afternoon. CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri will report on all the numbers. Analysts expect revenue to track with last year’s final quarter but with a bump in earnings per share for the quarter, which is the fourth quarter by the calendar but Apple’s Q1 because it starts its fiscal year in the holiday season.

1 billion subscribers push Apple’s services revenue to all-time high [Updated]

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Apple says more than a billion paid subscriptions pushed services revenues to an all-time high last quarter.
Photo: Goran Bogicevic/Free Stock photos by Vecteezy

The number of people subscribing to Apple services passed the 1 billion mark during the company’s most recent financial quarter, allowing that segment of the company to bring in record revenue.

But total revenue decreased slightly during the June quarter, the third time that’s happened in a row. And the money coming in from all Apple’s hardware groups is down.

5 reasons to ignore Apple’s rare revenue dip

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Apple logo overlayed in front of a stormy sky with sun breaking through the clouds, and the text,
Despite a 3% year-to-year drop in quarterly revenue (to "only" $94.8 billion), Apple delivers plenty of reasons for optimism.
Photos: Michael & Diane Weidner and Sumudu Mohottige/Unsplash License/Modified by Cult of Mac

Perhaps the best phrase to describe the results of Apple’s most recent financial quarter is, “It could have been worse.” Total revenue dropped 3% as the company battled inflation and other macroeconomic problems not of its making.

Still, Apple’s quarterly numbers beat the overly pessimistic Wall Street estimates. And there is more good news buried in the results Apple reported Thursday (and in the company’s earnings call with investors). Read on for five reasons to be optimistic about Apple’s future.

Huge stock award lets Apple CEO Tim Cook pull in cool $98.7 million in 2021

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Tim Cook earnings apple
Tim Cook’s compensation package for 2021 is more than 6x what it was in the previous year.
Illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

It’s good to be the CEO — Apple chief executive Tim Cook was paid $98.7 million in 2021. That’s a combination of a base salary, an incentive plan and other compensation, but the lion’s share is in Apple stock.

Other top Apple executives also have 8-figure annual compensation packages, if not anywhere close to Cook’s.

Apple TV+ subscriber numbers remain a total mystery

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Tim Cook is keeping quiet about Apple TV+ subscriber numbers for now.
Tim Cook could open up on the success of Apple's various subscription services.
Photo: Apple

Apple just can’t stop touting its surging revenue from subscription services. But when it comes to Apple TV+ subscriber numbers, Cupertino is keeping suspiciously quiet.

“2019 was a historic year” for Apple’s services business, CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday during the company’s latest record-smashing earnings call. He then went on to drop specific numbers about services like the App Store and Apple Pay. But when it came to new services like Apple TV+, Cook kept things decidedly vague.

Cook loves to reiterate that Apple TV+ serves as a creative place for the world’s best storytellers. And the story he’s masterfully spinning about the streaming video service is a great big mystery.

The biggest surprises from Apple’s shockingly good earnings report

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quotes on Apple
Tim Cook is the CEO of getting a bag.
Illustration: Cult of Mac

The first Apple earnings report of 2020 was a smashing success that shattered most of Apple’s previous records. Thanks to shockingly strong iPhone sales and a surging wearables business that is bigger than the Mac and the iPad, Apple managed to surpass even the most optimistic expectations.

Apple CEO Tim Cook held a call with investors after the numbers came out to dive deeper into the impressive quarterly results. Cook dished on everything from the success of Apple TV+ and problems with AirPods Pro supplies to the Wuhan coronavirus affecting China. If you didn’t get a chance to join the call, don’t worry, Cult of Mac has you covered with all the need-to-know info.

iPhone 11 propels Apple to another record-breaking quarter

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apple earnings
Apple's money-making machine is on a new level.
Photo illustration: Steve Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s first earnings report of 2020 saw the company hit a new all-time record for revenue made in a quarter thanks to stronger than expected iPhone sales.

The iPhone-maker brought in $91.8 billion during the holiday quarter which has the stock soaring in after-hours trading. Worries over how the coronavirus in China might affect Apple’s production throughout 2020 had Wall Street worried yesterday and based on Apple’s guidance for Q2 2020, the company doesn’t seem overly concerned it will have a big impact on profits yet.

5 big questions heading into Apple’s first earnings report of 2020

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Earnings call
Apple's Q1 2020 earnings report will probably break some records.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple’s first earnings report of the decade is barely 24 hours away, and Wall Street is praying for another historic quarter.

After defying gravity for the last 12 months, Apple’s soaring stock price suffered its biggest single-day loss in more than six months today. Tuesday’s Q1 2020 earnings, which will cover sales from the 2019 holiday season, could provide the jolt AAPL shares need to start jumping up the charts again. However, certain hot topics — and what Apple says about them — could signal a downturn ahead.

Biggest shockers from Apple’s record-smashing Q4 earnings

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quotes on Apple
Surprise! Apple made an ungodly amount of money last quarter.
Photo: Apple

Apple shares are soaring in after-hours trading today thanks to yet another record-breaking earnings report.

Tim Cook and Apple CFO Luca Maestri got on the phone with investors after the numbers came and provided some surprising details on how Apple hit a new high for Q4 revenue despite slowing iPhone sales. While everyone has been focusing on Apple’s booming services business, one of the company’s other product categories has transformed into its true growth engine.

Apple sets new Q4 record with $64 billion in revenue

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European Commission could get even tougher on tech in 2020
European Commission could get even tougher on tech in 2020
Image: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple earnings report for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2019 met the most bullish of Wall Street expectations this afternoon with a Q4 record high of $64 billion in revenue and $3.03 earnings per share.

Apple’s stock price started soaring in after-hours trading on news of the positive earnings. With the iPhone 11 on sale for just 10 days during Q4, Apple CEO Tim Cook gave credit to Apple’s booming service business and the Apple Watch and AirPods for pushing the quarter to record heights.

Everything you need to know before Apple’s last earnings call of 2019

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Earnings call
Get ready for another record breaking quarter.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple is ready to unveil its last earnings report of 2019 this week, and investors are anxiously waiting to hear some good news on iPhone sales.

All early indications point to sales of the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro performing even better than expected. But because the new devices were only on sale for the very tail end of the quarter, they might not have given Apple the growth Wall Street is desperate to see.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri are set to divulge all the details for Apple’s fiscal Q4 2019 earnings on Wednesday, October 30, at 2 p.m. PDT. Per usual, Cult of Mac will be analyzing all the data right when it drops and there are a couple of areas and metrics that are key to keeping Apple’s stock price soaring.

Apple’s big earnings surprises [Cult of Mac Magazine No. 308]

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Find out about Apple's big earnings surprises in Cult of Mac Magazine No. 308
We learned something! (A few things, actually.)
Cover: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple’s record-breaking revenues weren’t the biggest surprise in this week’s earnings call. Usually tight-lipped Apple execs Tim Cook and Luca Maestri actually uncorked a few shocking revelations!

Read all about it in this week’s totally free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. Grab the iOS version now to enjoy it on your iPad, or hit the links below to read in your browser.

You’ll also find plenty of other Apple news, analysis and opinion, including a call for transparency in the wake of Siri’s eavesdropping problem. Plus, we’ve got product reviews and how-tos — like one on cleaning the lint from your filthy iPhone.

8 key details from Apple’s upbeat earnings report

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European Commission could get even tougher on tech in 2020
European Commission could get even tougher on tech in 2020
Image: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple unleashed its best-ever Q3 earnings report today, and traders subsequently sent the company’s stock soaring in after-hours trading.

Thanks to record-breaking revenue from its services business and strong growth from wearables, Apple is heading into its most important period of the year ready to cash in. Investors had plenty of questions for CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri during today’s call. And the duo revealed some key tidbits we actually weren’t expecting.

Services fuel Apple to historic June quarter

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European Commission could get even tougher on tech in 2020
Apple shares are trading up on the good news.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Record-breaking revenue put Apple right in line with Wall Street expectations as the company released its Q3 2019 earnings report today.

The iPhone-maker brought in $53.8 billion in revenue, a number within range of its own guidance and most analysts’ predictions. That set a new record for Apple third-quarter revenue — a slight gain from Q3 2018’s $53.3 billion. CEO Tim Cook touted the company’s subscription offerings for fueling the new all-time high.

5 key things to watch for in Apple’s most boring earnings report of 2019

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Earnings call
Apple's Q1 2020 earnings report will probably break some records.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The most yawn-inducing Apple earnings call of the year is just days away, and Wall Street is eagerly anticipating the results — though maybe for reasons you wouldn’t expect.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri are scheduled to hop on the phone with investors at 2 p.m. Pacific next Tuesday for Apple’s Q3 2019 earnings call. Even though Apple doesn’t reveal quarterly sales for iPhones anymore, there are a lot of metrics to look for that could clue us in on how well or poorly the company is performing lately.

Keep an ear out for these five things during Apple’s July 30 earnings call.

What we learned from Apple’s surprising earnings report

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European Commission could get even tougher on tech in 2020
European Commission could get even tougher on tech in 2020
Image: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Wall Street received surprisingly better-than-expected news from Apple’s Q2 2019 earnings report today — and the stock is soaring in after-hours trading.

iPhone sales remain down, but pretty much every other facet of the company’s business is firing on all cylinders. Customers are falling in love with the iPad all over again. Services are booming. And Apple’s wearables business is now the size of a Fortune 200 company.

Despite plenty of doom and gloom from analysts over the last 12 months, Apple’s future is looking bright again.

Apple still has mojo for attracting new customers

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new Apple customers
Apple Watch could be better than ever next year.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

To listen to Apple’s Q2 earnings call is to get inundated with numbers. But the stockholder looking for a set of numbers giving them a reason to buy more shares should consider the rise of new Apple customers.

Apple CFO Luca Maestri delivered the usual dry intro into quarterly reports: the ups, downs, gross margins, basis points and other wonky indicators important to analysts listening in.

It was in his next breath where Maestri provided “color” that explained Apple’s optimism in the road ahead. There was double-digit growth in services, subscriptions and a blockbuster quarter for both the iPad and wearables, particularly, the Apple Watch Series 4.

Apple breezes past Wall Street forecasts with $58 billion in revenue

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It's "Get a bag Tuesday" and Tim Cook is cashing in.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple revealed its Q2 2019 earnings report and despite some pessimism from analysts, the company managed to beat Wall Street’s expectations.

Revenue for the quarter came in at $58 billion, slightly above Apple’s own guidance to investors. Most of Wall Street analysts were predicting the company would only bring in between $54 billion to $57 billion for the quarter. Better yet, the company’s guidance for next quarter is stronger than expected, signifying that the doom-and-gloom may have been severely overstated.

Everything you need to know about Apple’s disappointing holiday quarter

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Apple leases new offices near to Apple Park
Apple leases new offices near to Apple Park
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

Tim Cook sounded confident about Apple’s future when he got on today’s Q1 2019 earnings call with investors this afternoon. Despite slumping iPhone sales and declining revenues, Cook told investors that his company is being managed for the long-haul instead of short-term gains.

Wall Street is already responding positively to Apple’s earnings report with shares trading up in after-hours trading. The company has 1.4 billion active Apple devices in the world, positioning Apple to continue raking in money as no other company can. However, today’s call revealed some new challenges Apple faces going forward.

iPhone sales slump, but Apple’s in it ‘for the long term’

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quotes on Apple
Tim Cook is the CEO of getting a bag.
Illustration: Cult of Mac

Apple unveiled its earnings for Q1 2019 this afternoon and as expected, total revenue came in a lot lower than Apple originally predicted at the end of last year, with iPhone sales dropping 15%.

Thanks mostly to slumping sales in Greater China, Apple posted $84.3 billion in revenue, marking a drop from the $88.3 billion the company pulled in during the same quarter a year ago. Even though iPhone sales are struggling, Apple’s services are bringing in more money than expected, giving investors some good news.

Live blog: Witness Apple’s high-stakes earnings call

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Apple is worth more than the entire US energy sector combined
This earnings repot could be Apple's worst in years.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Investors are eagerly waiting to see all the numbers from Apple’s 2018 holiday quarter during today’s earnings call. Based on early reports, some of the numbers might come in even lower than expected.

Gulp.

Apple already warned investors that iPhones sales during Q1 2019 came in lower than expected, mostly thanks to problems in Greater China. Even after lowering revenue guidance, the company still could pull out a few surprises. However, most analysts remain worried that the iPhone sales slump will continue into 2020.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri are set to get on the phone with investors at 2 p.m. Pacific today. Per usual, Cult of Mac will be here live-blogging all the action with up-to-the-minute analysis on all the important numbers.

Come join the fun:

Why this week’s Apple earnings report is the most important in years

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Earnings call
Apple's Q1 2020 earnings report will probably break some records.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

When Apple unveils its earnings report for last year’s crucial holiday quarter, the entire world will be watching for signs of the company’s long-rumored impending doom.

Several factors will make Tuesday’s Q1 2019 earnings call Apple’s most important in years. Depending on how it goes, it could have an enormous impact on the company’s stock’s performance in 2019 and beyond.