TLDR
- Apple reported fiscal first-quarter revenue of $143.8 billion, beating analyst estimates by over $5 billion with 16% year-over-year growth
- iPhone revenue jumped 23% to $85.27 billion, driven by strong iPhone 17 demand that CEO Tim Cook called “staggering”
- Greater China sales surged 38% to $25.53 billion, crushing expectations as iPhone 17 drove record upgrades and Android switchers
- Apple forecasts March quarter revenue growth of 13-16%, above analyst expectations, despite processor and memory chip supply constraints
- Wearables segment missed expectations at $11.49 billion due to unexpected demand for AirPods Pro 3 translation feature
Apple crushed Wall Street expectations in its fiscal first quarter. The company reported revenue of $143.8 billion, up 16% from last year.
🍎 Apple $AAPL Earnings…
🔹 EPS: $2.84 vs $2.66 expected 🟢
🔹 Revenue: $143.8B vs $138.1B expected 🟢
🔹 Revenue up 16% YoY👉 Strong quarter from Apple, beating on both the top and bottom line 🔥 pic.twitter.com/IG2AUQ7Onl
— Trader Edge (@Pro_Trader_Edge) January 30, 2026
That beat analyst estimates of $138.48 billion by over $5 billion. Earnings per share came in at $2.84, ahead of the $2.67 consensus.
CEO Tim Cook had strong words for iPhone performance. “The demand for iPhone was simply staggering,” he told Reuters.
iPhone revenue hit $85.27 billion, smashing estimates of $78.65 billion. That’s a 23% jump from the same period last year.
The iPhone 17 lineup drove the results. Apple set sales records in every geographic region during the quarter.
Cook told CNBC the company gained market share over Android devices during the holiday period. “We set an all-time record for upgraders in mainland China, and we saw double-digit growth on switchers,” he said.
Apple now has an installed base of 2.5 billion devices. That’s up from 2.35 billion reported last January.
China Rebound Crushes Expectations
Greater China delivered the biggest surprise of the quarter. Sales jumped 38% to $25.53 billion.
Analysts had expected just $21.32 billion. The region includes mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Cook said the performance exceeded internal projections. “We saw a lift that, frankly, was much greater than we thought we would see,” he told analysts.
The iPhone 17 drove the surge. Double-digit growth in Android switchers helped fuel the numbers.
Apple has faced pressure in China from local competitors and regulatory scrutiny. The strong quarter suggests those headwinds may be easing.
Supply Constraints Loom Over March Quarter
Apple forecast March quarter revenue growth of 13% to 16%. That translates to $107.8 billion to $110.66 billion.
Analyst estimates had called for $104.84 billion. The forecast came with a caveat about supply issues.
“We’re currently constrained,” Cook told analysts. “At this point, it’s difficult to predict when supply and demand will balance.”
The constraints affect both processors and memory chips. Taiwan’s TSMC makes Apple’s chips and is facing capacity issues.
Cook pointed to less flexibility in the supply chain than normal. Rising demand for the iPhone 17 is partly to blame.
Memory chip pricing poses another challenge. A global shortage has hit the consumer electronics industry.
The situation stems from production shifting toward artificial intelligence applications. Data center memory commands higher margins than smartphone memory.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix control two-thirds of the DRAM chip market. Both companies warned that smartphone makers would bear the brunt of the shortage.
Cook declined to say whether Apple might raise product prices due to memory costs. He noted the company would “look at a range of options” to deal with rising prices.
Apple forecast gross margin of 48% to 49% for the March quarter. The memory chip crunch will have “a bit more of an impact” on margins, Cook said.
Mixed Results Across Product Lines
Mac revenue came in at $8.39 billion, missing estimates of $8.95 billion. Sales fell 7% from last year.
The company released an updated MacBook Pro with the M4 chip in November. Cook noted that half of iPad buyers during the quarter were new to the product.
iPad revenue hit $8.60 billion, beating expectations of $8.13 billion. That’s a 6% increase from the prior year.
Wearables, Home and Accessories revenue missed targets. The segment brought in $11.49 billion versus estimates of $12.04 billion.
Apple released AirPods Pro 3 last year with language translation features. Cook said demand for the new product caught the company off guard.
Services revenue reached $30.01 billion, just shy of the $30.07 billion estimate. The business grew 14% from last year.
Apple TV viewership rose 36% in December from a year earlier. The company expects Services to maintain similar growth rates in the current quarter.
Earlier in January, Apple announced a partnership with Google to use Gemini for an improved Siri. On Thursday, the company acquired Q.ai, an AI startup focused on detecting speech, moods, and heart rates from facial expressions, for $1.6 billion.
Finance chief Kevan Parekh said AI will require “incremental investment on top of our normal product road map investment.” Research and development expenses rose to $10.89 billion from $8.27 billion in the prior year period.
Apple spent nearly $32 billion on share repurchases and dividends during the quarter. The company reported $42.1 billion in net income.
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