Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook on Thursday gave a forecast for holiday quarter iPhone sales and overall revenue that beat Wall Street expectations, powered by orders for iPhone 17 models that the corporate is racing to meet amid continuing supply constraints.
The constraints, in addition to delays in shipping recent phones to China, led Apple to miss iPhone sales forecasts within the fiscal fourth quarter, although the shortfall was made up for by strength in other areas similar to recent AirPods that use AI to translate languages, and profit topped Wall Street targets.
Apple shares rose 3.8% in after-hours trading on Thursday.
The outcomes showed that the largest risks many investors saw to Apple’s business – its exposure to US-China trade tensions and its lag in rolling out AI features – played a smaller role than the complexity of constructing and shipping a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of devices.
In an interview with Reuters, Cook said he expects iPhone sales in the present, holiday-focused quarter to grow by double digits yr over yr and Apple’s overall revenue to grow 10-12% yr over yr. Those forecasts for Apple’s fiscal first quarter of 2026 beat analyst estimates of iPhone sales rising 9.8% to $75.91 billion and total sales up 6.6% to $132.53 billion, in line with data from LSEG.
The outlook comes as Cook said the corporate struggled to fulfill demand for several iPhone 17 models and a few older iPhone 16 models during its just-ended fiscal fourth quarter. The corporate also faced delays in China launching its iPhone Air model, the thinnest it has ever created and its biggest iPhone design overhaul in years.
Cook told Reuters that the China delay was the “primary reason” that sales contracted there through the fiscal fourth quarter.
“Nonetheless, we’re very smitten by China,” he said. “We love the response to the brand new products there, and we expect to grow or to return to growth in Q1.”
Cook said Apple continues to be working to resolve among the supply constraints.
“Currently in Q1, we’re experiencing supply constraints still on several models of the iPhone 17, and we’re filling orders just as fast as we are able to,” Cook said. “It’s an excellent problem to have.”
Among the many “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks, Apple’s share gains have trailed those of its rivals this yr as investors wait to see whether it will possibly meet up with artificial intelligence features. The corporate has said its biggest updates to Siri, its virtual assistant, will come next yr, and Cook told Reuters that Apple is “making good progress” on those upgrades.
Apple’s reliance on hardware sales has also left it with greater exposure to President Trump’s trade war with China. Last quarter, Apple told investors to expect $1.1 billion in tariff-related costs, though the corporate has previously beaten its own estimates, with costs coming in lower than feared.
But Apple is hoping that its recent iPhone Air – a possible precursor to a folding phone – together with more powerful iPhone Pro models and improved base iPhone models – will boost sales.
Apple’s fiscal fourth quarter is usually its slowest sales period as consumers wind down buying older iPhone models and await the launch of latest ones. Apple’s recent models began shipping to most markets on September 19, so the quarter includes only limited sales from the recently launched devices.
Sales and profit for the quarter ended Sept. 27 were $102.47 billion and $1.85 per share, compared with analyst expectations of $102.26 billion and $1.77 per share, in line with LSEG data. Sales of the Cupertino, California, company’s iPhone were $49.03 billion, compared with expectations of $50.19 billion, in line with LSEG data.
“My expectation is that iPhone Air sales are likely weak, but iPhone base and Pro models are stronger than expectations,” said Ryuta Makino, research analyst at Gabelli Funds. Makino added that “Guidance (was) higher than expectation. Ten to 12 percent growth is powerful.”
Nonetheless, the iPhone Air didn’t ship to China until October 22 due to regulatory delays as a result of its inclusion of only an e-SIM card for wireless connectivity. Apple said sales in its Greater China region were $14.49 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $16.24 billion, in line with data from Visible Alpha.
Apple said sales in its services segment, which accommodates Apple TV and its movie business, were $28.75 billion, compared with estimates of $28.17 billion, in line with LSEG data. Mac sales were $8.73 billion compared with estimates of $8.59 billion, and iPad sales were $6.95 billion, compared with estimates of $6.98 billion.
Sales in Apple’s accessories business, which accommodates AirPods and Apple Watch devices, were $9.01 billion, compared with estimates of $8.49 billion, in line with LSEG data.
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook on Thursday gave a forecast for holiday quarter iPhone sales and overall revenue that beat Wall Street expectations, powered by orders for iPhone 17 models that the corporate is racing to meet amid continuing supply constraints.
The constraints, in addition to delays in shipping recent phones to China, led Apple to miss iPhone sales forecasts within the fiscal fourth quarter, although the shortfall was made up for by strength in other areas similar to recent AirPods that use AI to translate languages, and profit topped Wall Street targets.
Apple shares rose 3.8% in after-hours trading on Thursday.
The outcomes showed that the largest risks many investors saw to Apple’s business – its exposure to US-China trade tensions and its lag in rolling out AI features – played a smaller role than the complexity of constructing and shipping a whole bunch of hundreds of thousands of devices.
In an interview with Reuters, Cook said he expects iPhone sales in the present, holiday-focused quarter to grow by double digits yr over yr and Apple’s overall revenue to grow 10-12% yr over yr. Those forecasts for Apple’s fiscal first quarter of 2026 beat analyst estimates of iPhone sales rising 9.8% to $75.91 billion and total sales up 6.6% to $132.53 billion, in line with data from LSEG.
The outlook comes as Cook said the corporate struggled to fulfill demand for several iPhone 17 models and a few older iPhone 16 models during its just-ended fiscal fourth quarter. The corporate also faced delays in China launching its iPhone Air model, the thinnest it has ever created and its biggest iPhone design overhaul in years.
Cook told Reuters that the China delay was the “primary reason” that sales contracted there through the fiscal fourth quarter.
“Nonetheless, we’re very smitten by China,” he said. “We love the response to the brand new products there, and we expect to grow or to return to growth in Q1.”
Cook said Apple continues to be working to resolve among the supply constraints.
“Currently in Q1, we’re experiencing supply constraints still on several models of the iPhone 17, and we’re filling orders just as fast as we are able to,” Cook said. “It’s an excellent problem to have.”
Among the many “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks, Apple’s share gains have trailed those of its rivals this yr as investors wait to see whether it will possibly meet up with artificial intelligence features. The corporate has said its biggest updates to Siri, its virtual assistant, will come next yr, and Cook told Reuters that Apple is “making good progress” on those upgrades.
Apple’s reliance on hardware sales has also left it with greater exposure to President Trump’s trade war with China. Last quarter, Apple told investors to expect $1.1 billion in tariff-related costs, though the corporate has previously beaten its own estimates, with costs coming in lower than feared.
But Apple is hoping that its recent iPhone Air – a possible precursor to a folding phone – together with more powerful iPhone Pro models and improved base iPhone models – will boost sales.
Apple’s fiscal fourth quarter is usually its slowest sales period as consumers wind down buying older iPhone models and await the launch of latest ones. Apple’s recent models began shipping to most markets on September 19, so the quarter includes only limited sales from the recently launched devices.
Sales and profit for the quarter ended Sept. 27 were $102.47 billion and $1.85 per share, compared with analyst expectations of $102.26 billion and $1.77 per share, in line with LSEG data. Sales of the Cupertino, California, company’s iPhone were $49.03 billion, compared with expectations of $50.19 billion, in line with LSEG data.
“My expectation is that iPhone Air sales are likely weak, but iPhone base and Pro models are stronger than expectations,” said Ryuta Makino, research analyst at Gabelli Funds. Makino added that “Guidance (was) higher than expectation. Ten to 12 percent growth is powerful.”
Nonetheless, the iPhone Air didn’t ship to China until October 22 due to regulatory delays as a result of its inclusion of only an e-SIM card for wireless connectivity. Apple said sales in its Greater China region were $14.49 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $16.24 billion, in line with data from Visible Alpha.
Apple said sales in its services segment, which accommodates Apple TV and its movie business, were $28.75 billion, compared with estimates of $28.17 billion, in line with LSEG data. Mac sales were $8.73 billion compared with estimates of $8.59 billion, and iPad sales were $6.95 billion, compared with estimates of $6.98 billion.
Sales in Apple’s accessories business, which accommodates AirPods and Apple Watch devices, were $9.01 billion, compared with estimates of $8.49 billion, in line with LSEG data.
