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A Surprising Second Quarter
Indeed, the company has acknowledged its delay in rolling out Artificial Intelligence to iOS 19 by late 2025, or possibly 2026, a move that has been poorly received. Added to this are the intelligent Siri crisis, internal restructuring, ongoing lawsuits over false advertising, and the accelerated relocation out of China spurred by Donald Trump’s tax policies! In short, it’s a mix of hurdles and challenges to start the year, against a backdrop of financial market volatility. Yet once again, these results offer a glimpse of Apple’s ability to handle a completely chaotic situation.
A Strategic Retreat?
This fiscal second quarter and the start of the year have ultimately been a great success. Especially since it precedes Donald Trump’s fiscal yo-yo. As many analysts had suggested in their studies (Canalys, Counterpoint Research, IDC…), fearing a skyrocketing increase in prices, consumers went on a buying spree before April 9, the date when the reciprocal taxes took effect. We know the outcome now, but the first quarter was definitely crazy.
On the product front, Apple indeed released several highly anticipated products: the iPhone 16 on February 8, 2025, then the iPad 11 and iPad Air M3 on March 4, 2025, and finally, the MacBook Air M4 and a new generation of Mac Studio M4 Max or M3 Ultra on March 5, 2025! The economic context and the price drop of older generations (a logical consequence of the new releases) did the rest: sales surged, possibly anticipating a drop in the next quarter. This upcoming quarter could see a slowdown in purchases (as demand has been met), and a price increase (due to taxes on imported products or retaliatory measures).
Finally, with the hardening of Sino-American relations, the situation in China is deteriorating with a drop in sales in the country, especially since Apple has not deployed any Apple Intelligence features there, for administrative reasons. Indeed, it would require a fully Chinese AI and system. Additionally, there is a significant boycott of American products (which existed before but has become quite significant).
Today, Apple posted solid quarterly results, including double-digit growth in services,
stated Tim Cook, CEO of Apple. We were pleased to introduce the iPhone 16 in our lineup and to launch new, more powerful Macs and iPads that leverage the extraordinary capabilities of Apple Silicon. And we are proud to announce that we have reduced our carbon emissions by 60% over the past decade.
A Strong iPhone (Boosted by Donald Trump’s Policies?)
This quarter, Apple’s flagship product lived up to its reputation and generated $46.841 billion in revenue—a modest increase of 1.91%, during what is usually a quiet time of year.
Accounting for nearly half of the overall revenue (49.12% of total sales), the iPhone remains the undeniable pillar of Cupertino’s revenue, even though it lacks some of the expected AI functions, even if Siri is lagging behind, even if the iPhone 16 released in February could have been more affordable…
The adoption rate remains strong, but questions might arise in the next quarter, as the tumultuous month of April with Donald Trump’s announcements was not accounted for.
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The iPad’s Remarkable Growth
There’s no rest for the Apple tablet! The iPad continues its upward trajectory from recent months and shows a spectacular increase of 15.16%, amounting to $6.402 billion in revenue.
Recently, sales had plateaued due to a lack of new releases but picked up again last quarter with the launch of the iPad Pro M4, the iPad Air M2, and the iPad Mini 7 with its A17 Pro chip. With the release of the iPad 11 and iPad Air M3, Apple has thus refreshed its tablet lineup and offers the widest choice to users (if you’re a bit lost in the catalog, don’t hesitate to check out our video on the topic).
No more sulking! Users can now opt for a new model (to keep for several years) or for an older generation at prices aligned with market reality and competition, such as the iPad 10 or iPad Pro M2 available at very attractive prices.
Impressive Growth for the Mac
Another pleasant surprise this quarter: Mac sales have also performed very well! Across all models, Apple’s machines continue their resurgence that began last Christmas. Cupertino records $7.949 billion in sales and a rise of 6.68%.
In March, Apple finally released a Mac Studio M4 Max / M3 Ultra, but primarily its new MacBook Air M4. These have generally sold very well, especially since the release of the new models was accompanied by a significant price drop for the MacBook M1, M2, and M3.
Users now have a choice of four Apple Silicon chips -all compatible with Apple Intelligence-: M1, M2, M3, and M4. These are available for all budgets, all uses, and almost all price points (with great promotions that we regularly highlight).
Services Smile, Wearables Weep
Another pride of Apple: the Services! The segment—which includes the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, Apple TV+, and Apple Pay—has become a true growth driver, offering much higher margins than hardware (especially with the looming tariff war). They thus maintain a robust two-digit growth (+11.64%), totaling $26.645 billion.
This branch has continued to grow despite regulatory challenges and increasing pressure around the App Store. It might experience a slight hiccup next quarter with today’s verdict of Apple facing Epic Games, in its long-running lawsuit.
In contrast, due to a lack of real innovations for ages, the catch-all category of Wearables, Home and Accessories has still not recovered and continues to decline. With $7.522 billion, it shows a drop of -4.94% for this quarter. It’s worth noting that this category includes the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Ultra, as well as AirPods/Pro/Max, the HomePod mini, and also the Vision Pro.
Despite some renewals, the formerly very innovative products from Apple no longer present too many hardware novelties from one generation to the next. However, in 2025, several home products are expected, such as a HomePad (a sort of control panel with an iPad screen), a connected doorbell, but also AirPods equipped with Infrared sensors. Nonetheless, these products might not arrive before September, or even before Christmas or early 2026.
What’s Next?
Now, we just have to wait for the stock market’s verdict to see if investors are pleased with these figures, or not. Additionally, Tim Cook and Kevan Parekh (the new CFO who replaced Luca Maestri on January 1, 2025) will now engage with a few handpicked journalists, as part of the earnings call.
We might learn some additional information, particularly concerning the tariffs on products imported from China, Apple’s restructuring, or the new features of Apple Intelligence…