Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) recently reported strong third-quarter results, with revenues rising to a June-quarter record. The company’s stock rallied soon after the announcement, even as iPhone sales beat estimates despite trade-related challenges. The management’s initiatives to accelerate AI integration across Apple devices and services added to the positive investor sentiment. However, the shares pulled back later as the company cautioned of significant tariff-related costs this year.
Recovering from its post-earnings dip, Apple’s stock traded up 2% on Monday Morning. The shares have lost about 19% since retreating from their December peak. Apple’s board has declared a cash dividend of $0.26 per share on its common stock, payable on August 14, 2025, to shareholders of record on August 11, 2025.
Q3 Beat
The gadget giant’s third-quarter net sales climbed to $94.03 billion from $85.78 billion in the same period last year, exceeding estimates. The growth mainly reflects a 13% increase in iPhone sales, which account for nearly 50% of total revenue. Earnings, on a per-share basis, rose to $1.57 in Q3 from $1.40 a year earlier and beat analysts’ estimates. Unadjusted net income was $23.4 billion, compared to $21.4 billion in Q3 2024. Apple has a strong track record of consistently beating Wall Street’s quarterly earnings estimates.
Continuing the recent uptrend, Apple’s services revenue grew 13% YoY in the June quarter. Mac sales rose 15%, while iPad and wearables sales declined 8% and 9%, respectively, from the prior-year quarter. Combined sales increased across all geographical regions, demonstrating the company’s resilience to economic uncertainties and supply chain challenges. It was the biggest revenue growth since 2021. In China, iPhone experienced a surprise growth, recovering from the recent slowdown.
AI Push
The management’s growth strategy is focused on AI integration, and it plans substantial AI investments and potential M&A deals to expand the AI roadmap. This strategic pivot is especially significant since Apple has often drawn criticism from stakeholders for a perceived lag in AI innovation. As part of integrating AI features across the platform, the company is developing a more personalized Siri, with the new features expected to launch next year.
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said, “We’ve already released more than 20 Apple Intelligence features, including visual intelligence, cleanup. and powerful writing tools. We’re making good progress on a more personalized Siri, and as we’ve said before, we expect to release these features next year. Apple silicon is at the heart of all of these experiences, enabling powerful Apple Intelligence features to run directly on-device. For more advanced tasks, our servers, also powered by Apple silicon, deliver even greater capabilities while preserving user privacy through our private cloud compute architecture.”
iPhone Leads
iPhone sales gained momentum this year, reflecting strong upgrade rates and healthy demand across all geographies, especially in emerging markets like South Africa, India, and Brazil. Another key growth engine is the services segment, with consistent momentum in App Store, iCloud, and Apple TV+ viewership.
Apple’s stock market performance has not been very impressive this year, with the share price falling about 19%. The last closing price is about 7% below the stock’s 52-week average value of $222.01.
The post iPhone and Services strength drive Apple’s Q3 growth, despite tariff woes first appeared on AlphaStreet.
