Apple sees strong India momentum, Tim Cook says, after iPhone 17 fuels record sales

Apple Inc. has announced a record quarterly revenue, fueled by robust demand for its iPhone 17 series, particularly in India and other emerging markets. This surge emphasizes the increasing significance of India in Apple's global expansion strategy. For the quarter ending December 27, revenue surged nearly 16% year-over-year, reaching $143.8 billion, while net income hit an all-time high of $42.1 billion. The iPhone was the standout performer, generating an impressive $85.3 billion in sales. CEO Tim Cook noted that the company is witnessing accelerated momentum in emerging markets, with India showing remarkable double-digit revenue growth. "We continue to gain momentum in emerging markets, particularly in India, where we experienced strong revenue increases," Cook stated during the earnings call. He also mentioned that the iPhone achieved unprecedented sales records across all geographic segments. These results illustrate Apple’s strategy to diversify its user base beyond established markets like the US and Europe, with India playing a pivotal role in both revenue growth and manufacturing expansion. Additionally, Apple’s rapidly growing Services division celebrated a significant milestone, with revenue surpassing $30 billion for the first time. This segment, which includes the App Store, Apple Music, and iCloud, has benefited from an installed base that now exceeds 2.5 billion active devices worldwide. The company is also enhancing its investment in artificial intelligence, launching "Apple Intelligence," and confirming a partnership with Google to develop future foundational models. This initiative aims to enhance Siri’s capabilities through a blend of on-device processing and private cloud computing. Despite the positive news, revenue from Mac products dipped by 7%, attributed to challenging year-on-year comparisons, while Wearables saw a 2% decline due to supply chain issues affecting the new AirPods Pro 3. Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh remarked, "Our record business performance and strong margins resulted in EPS growth of 19%, marking a new all-time EPS record." He added that these outstanding results generated nearly $54 billion in operating cash flow, enabling the company to return almost $32 billion to its shareholders. Looking ahead, Apple anticipates that this momentum will continue into the spring quarter, despite facing rising costs for memory components, a challenge impacting the wider consumer electronics sector.