Apple Reports Record iPhone Demand in Tim Cook’s Penultimate Earnings Call

Apple Inc. released its fiscal first quarter 2026 earnings on Thursday, delivering results that significantly exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. With CEO Tim Cook preparing to step down in September after 15 years at the helm, this report serves as a capstone to one of the most successful tenures in corporate history.

Revenue Surges Across the Board

Apple’s total product revenue reached $111 billion (£81 billion) for the quarter, representing a 17% year-over-year increase. The standout performer was China, where sales jumped 28% compared to the same period last year — the fastest growth of any region.

Cook told financial analysts on the earnings call that recent iPhone demand had been “extraordinary,” calling the iPhone 17 the “most popular launch in Apple’s history.”

MacBook Neo Drives Record Mac Adoption

While sales of other Apple products — including Mac computers and wearable devices like the Apple Watch — remained relatively flat overall, Cook highlighted the newly launched MacBook Neo as experiencing “off the charts” demand. The quarter set a record for new Mac buyers, driven largely by the Neo, which is priced significantly below other Mac laptops.

Apple’s AI Strategy: Partnership Over Competition

In the artificial intelligence arena, Apple has taken a markedly different approach from the broader technology industry. Rather than pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into building its own AI models, Apple has chosen to partner with companies like OpenAI and Google to integrate their AI technology into Apple features.

“This is not AI as a standalone feature, but AI as an essential and intuitive part of our devices,” Cook said. He emphasized that Apple’s approach to AI is to be “respectful of user privacy,” which he argued makes Apple platforms “the best places to experience AI.”

While some critics have characterized Apple as a late mover in the AI wave, this strategy also means the company is far less exposed to potential losses if the enormous expectations around AI fail to materialize. Cook revealed that Apple Intelligence will be updated later this year and will be integrated into the Siri voice assistant.

The Succession: John Ternus Takes the Reins

With Cook’s imminent transition from CEO to chairman, he took a moment on the earnings call to praise John Ternus, the longtime Apple hardware executive who will become the next Apple CEO on September 1.

“I know he will push us to go further than we think is possible in order to deliver products for our users,” Cook said.

Ternus spoke to financial analysts for the first time on the call, saying he plans to maintain Cook’s tradition of financial “discipline” and alluded to future product rollouts. “We have an incredible roadmap ahead… suffice it to say this is the most exciting time in my career at Apple to be building products and services,” Ternus said.

Broader Tech Earnings

Also on Thursday, social media platform Reddit reported quarterly revenue that jumped 69%. CEO Ladd Huffman noted that 200 million people in the US — more than half the country’s population — visit Reddit every week. The company’s goal is to convert that weekly reach into daily engagement and ultimately reach one billion daily active users globally.

Meanwhile, online gaming platform Roblox saw its shares fall 20% in after-hours trading following its quarterly results, despite significant growth in its user base and revenue.

Sources: BBC News