New York
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\n As Big Tech battles for dominance in artificial intelligence, Apple is flying high on the success of the iPhone.\n <\/p>\n
\n The company reported earnings that blew past Wall Street\u2019s expectations on Thursday, largely driven by the iPhone 17. Revenue hit $143.8 billion for the quarter, up from $124.3 billion a year ago. Meanwhile,iPhone revenue reached $85.3 billion compared to analysts\u2019 expectation of $78.2 billion for the quarter.\n <\/p>\n
\n The results capture the first full quarter of availability for the iPhone 17, which came out in September. And the stakes were high: Apple has been widely perceived as behind in AI, putting more pressure on core products like the iPhone to succeed.\n <\/p>\n
\n Apple (AAPL<\/a>) also announced that there are now 2.5 billion Apple devices in use globally. CEO Tim Cook told analysts on Thursday that the company saw record iPhone upgrades and double-digit growth on \u201cswitchers,\u201d users who switch from Android to the iPhone. Revenue in China, a market where Apple has struggled, also grew to $25.5 billion for the quarter compared to $18.5 billion a year ago.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe demand for iPhone was simply staggering,\u201d Cook said.\n <\/p>\n \n The results come after a challenging 2025 for Apple. Last year, the company grappled with tariffs and a high-profile delay of its revamped version of Siri, which Cook said on the call will arrive this year. Apple and Google recently announced that the search giant\u2019s AI and cloud technology will power the iPhone maker\u2019s AI models, including the upcoming Siri.\n <\/p>\n \n Despite the strong results, Apple still has hurdles ahead. Manufacturers are pivoting resources to creating memory for data centers rather than consumer products like smartphones, creating a memory shortage<\/a> in the tech industry.\n <\/p>\n \n Cook said that Apple is currently \u201cconstrained\u201d and that it\u2019s \u201cdifficult to predict when supply and demand will balance.\u201d He added that the memory shortage had a \u201cminimal impact\u201d on the December quarter but might be more noticeable in the current quarter.\n <\/p>\n