Apple delivered its strongest June quarter on record, with revenue climbing 16% year on year to $109.42bn (€95.2bn) and earnings per share up 27% to $2.02. The results, announced on Thursday, beat market forecasts and marked the final earnings call for outgoing chief executive Tim Cook. Yet investors focused on a softer-than-expected outlook for the current quarter, sending shares down as much as 8% in after-hours trading before a partial recovery.
The company forecast revenue growth of between 9% and 11% for the September quarter, below the roughly 12% analysts had pencilled in. Management also warned that rising memory-chip costs and persistent shortages of advanced chipmaking capacity—partly a knock-on effect of the artificial intelligence boom—would weigh on margins. Apple had previously described the surge in demand as an “unprecedented challenge” for the consumer electronics industry.
Record iPhone and Mac sales
iPhone revenue jumped 21.7% to a quarterly record of $54.25bn (€47.2bn), while Mac sales climbed 28.7% to $10.35bn (€9bn). Services also posted double-digit growth, and the company reported revenue gains in every geographic segment, including Europe. The strong performance helped offset concerns about a broader slowdown in consumer electronics demand across the continent and beyond.
“Today, Apple is proud to report our strongest June quarter ever, with double-digit revenue growth across iPhone, Mac and Services, and in every geographic segment,” Cook said in a statement.
The results were flattered by tariff refunds, which contributed $0.11 per share to earnings. Without those, profit would have been closer to $1.91 per share, still ahead of the $1.89 consensus estimate from FactSet. Revenue came in slightly above the $109bn (€94.8bn) analysts had expected.
Cost pressures and price rises
Cook described the surge in memory prices as a “100-year flood”, adding that Apple expects those costs to rise further in the current quarter. The company has already announced price increases for some Mac and iPad models, and analysts expect iPhone prices to follow later this year. The September iPhone launch and potential further price hikes should “help cushion the hit”, according to Thomas Monteiro, an analyst at Investing.com.
“Apple continues to generate cash without the massive artificial intelligence spending facing its Big Tech peers, and that showed across most parts of the operation,” Monteiro said. “As the market grows more worried about free cash flow trajectories elsewhere in Big Tech, Apple keeps standing out as the safe haven in the storm.” He cautioned, however, that rising memory costs could challenge Apple in the coming quarters.
Leadership transition
Thursday’s call was Cook’s last as chief executive after 15 years at the helm. John Ternus, Apple’s head of hardware engineering, will take over on 1 September. Cook expressed confidence in his successor: “I couldn't be more confident in his leadership, in the executive team and the extraordinary people at Apple.”
The transition comes at a delicate time for the company, as it navigates supply-chain constraints and a shifting competitive landscape. Apple’s reliance on advanced chips, many of which are produced in Europe and Asia, underscores the continent’s role in the global semiconductor supply chain. The surge in AI-driven chip demand has tightened capacity and pushed up prices, a trend that is also affecting other hardware makers.
Investors will be watching whether Ternus can maintain Apple’s momentum while managing cost pressures. The company’s ability to pass on higher costs to consumers will be tested in the key holiday quarter, particularly in price-sensitive markets like Germany and France.
Despite the cautious outlook, Apple’s balance sheet remains robust, and its services business continues to grow steadily. The company’s resilience in the face of macroeconomic headwinds—including inflationary pressures across Europe—has made it a defensive pick for many investors. Whether that status holds under new leadership remains to be seen.
