Dave Lee, Columnist

Apple’s ‘Best Quarter Ever’ Leaves Much to Be Desired

Overall revenue may have reached record levels, but big questions lurk about large parts of the iPhone maker’s business.

January 31, 2025 at 12:11 AM UTC

By Dave Lee

Dave Lee is Bloomberg Opinion's US technology columnist. He was previously a correspondent for the Financial Times and BBC News.

AI isn't fueling an iPhone sales supercycle.
Photographer: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

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Apple Inc. described its latest results as its “best quarter ever,” but that’s only true if you stop reading near the top of the press release issued Thursday evening. Overall revenue may have reached record levels, but big questions lurk about large parts of the iPhone maker’s business.

First and foremost, the artificial-intelligence sales “supercycle” predicted to follow the launch of the first AI-enhanced iPhone has not materialized and shows no sign of showing up soon. The iPhone missed expectations in the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 28, falling 0.8% from the same period a year earlier to $69.1 billion compared with the $71 billion anticipated by Wall Street. That’s not what investors thought would happen following the launch of the company’s first AI-enabled phone.