Apple’s shares experienced a 1.9 per cent decline in after-hours trading following a cautious outlook for the holiday quarter, despite reporting solid financial results. The tech giant’s forecast of low to mid-single-digit revenue growth fell marginally short of Wall Street’s expectations, as market analysts grappled with uncertainties surrounding the company’s new AI features and their potential impact on device sales.
The Cupertino-based company reported revenue of £94.9 billion for the quarter ending 28 September, marking a 6 per cent increase year-on-year and slightly surpassing consensus estimates. iPhone sales reached £46.2 billion, up from £43.8 billion in the previous year, whilst the services division, encompassing the App Store and Apple Pay, grew 12 per cent to £24.9 billion.
Chief Executive Tim Cook highlighted improvements in foreign exchange rates and robust smartphone sales as key drivers behind the company’s steady performance in China, where sales remained flat at £15 billion. This stabilisation marks an improvement from the declining trends observed in earlier quarters of 2024.
The company’s recent launch of ‘Apple Intelligence’ features, including an enhanced Siri voice assistant and AI-powered photo editing tools, has shown promising early adoption rates. Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri revealed that customers are downloading the AI-focused operating system at twice the speed of last year’s software update.
Looking ahead, Apple faces potential challenges from geopolitical tensions and trade policies, particularly concerning its Chinese manufacturing relationships. The company’s measured approach to guidance reflects these uncertainties, even as it continues to roll out additional AI capabilities, including ChatGPT integration and AI-powered emoji generation, before year’s end.
The financial community remains focused on whether these AI innovations will translate into meaningful sales growth during the crucial holiday quarter, as Apple continues its careful balance of technological advancement and market expectations.
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