San Francisco — Apple on Thursday reported sales and profit that far surpassed expectations, with some customers making iPhone purchases early to avoid US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Apple often gives conservative sales forecasts that temper Wall Street’s expectations, but Thursday’s results beat analyst estimates by more than usual. Apple’s quarterly revenue beat was the largest in percentage terms since the June quarter of 2021, according to LSEG.
CEO Tim Cook told analysts on a conference call that tariffs had cost Apple $800m in the June quarter and may add $1.1bn in costs to the current quarter.
Apple reported $94.04bn in revenue for its fiscal third quarter ended June 28, up nearly 10% from a year earlier and beating analyst expectations of $89.54bn, according to LSEG data. Its earnings per share of $1.57 per share topped expectations of $1.43 per share.
Apple shares were up 1% in after-hours trading.
Sales of iPhones, the Cupertino, California, company’s best-selling product, were up 13.5% to $44.58 billion, beating analyst expectations of $40.22bn.
Apple has been shifting production of products bound for the US, sourcing iPhones from India and other products such as Macs and Apple Watches from Vietnam.
Still, the company had warned investors that US tariffs could cost it $900m in the fiscal third quarter, and it trimmed its annual share buyback programme by $10bn, a move analysts viewed as helping to free up cash to remain nimble in uncertain times.
The ultimate tariffs many Apple products could face remain in flux, and many of its products are currently exempt. Sales in its Americas segment, which includes the US and could face tariff impacts, rose 9.3% to $41.2bn.
In Greater China, where Apple has faced long delays in approval to introduce AI features on its devices, sales were $15.37bn, up from a year ago and above expectations of $15.12bn, according to a survey of five analysts from data firm Visible Alpha.
That gain was a turnaround from a year-over-year decline in China sales in the March quarter.
Cook said the company set seasonal records for upgrades of iPhones, Macs, and Apple Watches. He said Apple estimates about 1 percentage point of its 9.6% of sales growth in the quarter was attributable to customers making purchases ahead of potential tariffs.
“We saw evidence in the early part of the quarter, specifically, of some pull-ahead related to the tariff announcements,” Cook told Reuters, though he also said the active user base for iPhones hit a record high in all geographies.
The US is still negotiating with both China and India, with Trump saying India could face 25% tariffs as early as Friday. However, analysts said India could still retain cost advantages for Apple in the longer term.
“The pull-forward in demand due to tariffs was somewhat expected given the uncertainty around pricing. However, it's important to put this in context as this is typically a slow quarter for Apple, yet they still delivered exceptional results with iPhone growth,” Emarketer analyst Jacob Bourne said.
Tariffs are only one of Apple’s challenges. The company faces competition from rivals such as Samsung Electronics in a tough market for premium-priced mobile phones. On the software front, Apple faces challenges from Alphabet, which is quickly weaving AI features into its competing Android operating system.
While AI leaders Microsoft and Nvidia have seen their stock market values soar to record highs, Apple’s shares have fallen 17% in 2025, with investors concerned about the impact of tariffs, and about what they view as slow progress integrating AI features into its products.
Apple has delayed the release of an AI-enriched version of Siri, its virtual assistant, but Cook said the company is “making good progress on a personalised Siri.” He also said Apple, which has thus far not engaged in the massive capital expenditures of its Big Tech rivals to pursue AI, is “significantly growing” its investments in artificial intelligence.
“Apple has always been about taking the most advanced technologies and making them easy to use and accessible for everyone, and that's at the heart of our AI strategy,” Cook said.
Apple faces regulatory rulings in Europe that threaten to undermine its lucrative App Store business. Apple said sales from its services business, which includes the App Store as well as music and cloud storage, were $27.42bn, topping analyst expectations of $26.8bn.
Sales of wearables such as AirPods and Apple Watches were $7.4bn, missing estimates of $7.82bn. Mac sales of $8.05bn beat expectations of $7.26bn, while iPads hit $6.58bn in sales, missing expectations of $7.24bn.
Reuters
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