Core Insights - Apple reported a record-breaking quarterly revenue of $143.8 billion for Q1 2026, representing a 16% increase year over year, with diluted earnings per share (EPS) rising 19% to $2.84 [1][2] Financial Performance - Total net sales reached $143.8 billion, up from $124.3 billion in the same quarter last year, driven by strong performance in both products and services [9][10] - Product sales amounted to $113.7 billion, a significant increase from $98 billion, while services generated $30 billion, up from $26.3 billion [9][10] - Gross margin for the quarter was $69.2 billion, compared to $58.3 billion in the previous year [9] - Operating income increased to $50.9 billion from $42.8 billion, with net income rising to $42.1 billion from $36.3 billion [9] Segment Performance - iPhone sales reached $85.3 billion, up from $69.1 billion, marking the best-ever quarter for the product [10] - Services revenue also set an all-time record, increasing by 14% year over year [2] Cash Flow and Shareholder Returns - The company generated nearly $54 billion in operating cash flow and returned almost $32 billion to shareholders [2] - A cash dividend of $0.26 per share was declared, payable on February 12, 2026 [2] Active Devices and Market Presence - Apple now has over 2.5 billion active devices, indicating strong customer satisfaction and product adoption [2]

The company raced past its already strong forecast, but investors are concerned about how it will contend with higher costs. ...

Apple Stock Closes Up. Earnings Are on Deck.CONCLUDED[Apple Earnings Beat Estimates. iPhone Has 'Best-Ever Quarter.']Last Updated:---20 hours ago# Apple Stock Closes Up. Earnings Are on Deck.By[Angela Palumbo]Apple stock closed in the green on Thursday as investors prepared for the iPhone maker to post its most recent financial results.Shares ended Thursday up 0.7%, to $258.18. The stock has now gained 8.7% over the past 12 months, underperforming the S&P 500's 15% gain.Strong earnings and an optimistic out ...

Company Performance - Microsoft shares dropped by 10.0 percent, reaching their lowest closing level in nine months due to slowing cloud computing growth and disappointing third quarter operating margin guidance [2][3] - Meta Platforms saw a significant increase of 10.4 percent after reporting better than expected fourth quarter results and forecasting first quarter revenues above analyst estimates [5] - IBM Corp. shares surged after exceeding expectations on both top and bottom lines in its fourth quarter results [5] Sector Performance - The Dow Jones U.S. Software Index fell by 7.7 percent, marking a nine-month closing low, largely influenced by Microsoft’s decline and a 9.9 percent drop in ServiceNow shares despite its better than expected fourth quarter earnings [5][6] - Airline stocks increased significantly, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index rising by 2.3 percent, contributing to the overall market recovery [7] - Gold stocks experienced continued weakness, as indicated by a 3.8 percent slump in the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index, despite a recovery in gold prices [6] Market Overview - The major averages showed a recovery attempt after an early nosedive, with the Dow ending up 55.96 points or 0.1 percent at 49,071.56, while the S&P 500 closed down just 9.02 points or 0.1 percent at 6,969.01 [1] - The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day down 172.33 points or 0.7 percent at 23,685.12, having previously tumbled by as much as 2.6 percent [2] - Stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region mostly moved higher, with Japan's Nikkei 225 Index closing marginally higher and China's Shanghai Composite Index edging up by 0.2 percent [8] Economic Indicators - The yield on the benchmark ten-year note fell by 2.4 basis points to 4.227 percent, indicating a recovery in the bond market following previous pullbacks [9] - Upcoming earnings news from Apple may influence trading, with the tech giant set to report its fiscal first quarter results [10]

Group 1: Market Reactions and Trends - The NASDAQ 100 experienced its worst day since November of the previous year, dropping by two percentage points, indicating significant market volatility [2] - Microsoft reported a capital expenditure (capex) of $1.5 billion beyond consensus, with a 38% growth in Azure, raising concerns about the sustainability of this growth amid increasing capex [4][5] - Meta's capex reached $135 billion, showing significant growth in its advertising business, which alleviated some market concerns about its AI spending [20][22] Group 2: Company-Specific Insights - Microsoft is focusing on two strategic priorities: the adoption of Microsoft Copilot and internal R&D, which are expected to drive long-term growth despite short-term fluctuations in Azure growth [7][9] - Meta's growth in the core business, aided by AI, is expected to sustain a healthy level of top-line growth, even if growth decelerates in the future [22][24] - Tesla announced ambitious plans for a chip factory to alleviate constraints in chip supply, with a projected capex of $20 billion this year, significantly higher than typical annual investments [31][32][35] Group 3: AI and Capital Expenditures - Concerns are rising about the relationship between capital expenditures and growth from AI, with Microsoft facing scrutiny over its capex growth outpacing revenue growth in Azure [5][48] - The market is reacting negatively to Microsoft's capex increase, which is seen as a risk amid uncertain AI adoption rates [10][11] - The AI landscape is evolving, with companies like Microsoft and Meta investing heavily in AI infrastructure, which is expected to yield long-term benefits despite short-term challenges [20][30] Group 4: Regulatory and Ethical Considerations - Amazon reported hundreds of thousands of pieces of content believed to include child sexual abuse material in its AI training datasets, raising ethical concerns about data sourcing and transparency [85][86] - The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children highlighted the importance of data sharing for law enforcement, which Amazon has not provided, stunting further investigation [88][89]

Apple has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup focused on artificial intelligence technology for audio, the Financial Times reported on Thursday (Jan. 29), as the company prepares to report fiscal fourth-quarter results later Thursday amid growing scrutiny of its AI strategy.By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions .Complete the form to ...

In Brief Apple, Meta, and Google are locked in a fierce battle to lead the next wave of AI, and they’ve recently increased their focus on hardware. With its latest acquisition of the AI startup Q.AI, Apple aims to gain an edge, particularly in the audio sector.​As first reported by Reuters, Apple has acquired Q.AI, an Israeli startup specializing in imaging and machine learning, particularly technologies that enable devices to interpret whispered speech and enhance audio in noisy environments. Apple has bee ...

Market Overview - The stock market experienced a sharp pullback, particularly in the software sector, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq recovering slightly from their worst levels during the session [1] - Microsoft shares declined by 12%, with management indicating that better allocation of compute resources towards Azure could improve revenue growth [1] - If Microsoft had allocated all new GPUs to Azure, year-over-year cloud revenue growth could have reached 40% instead of the constrained 38% [1] Software Sector Analysis - The decline in Microsoft is part of a broader trend affecting enterprise software as a service (SaaS) companies, with ServiceNow dropping 12% despite better-than-expected results [1] - Salesforce shares fell by approximately 7% following ServiceNow's earnings reaction, indicating a market revaluation of SaaS companies and compressing price-to-earnings multiples [1] - SAP's shares also fell significantly after its cloud backlog increased less than anticipated, reflecting the overall negative sentiment in the software sector [1] Cybersecurity Companies - Cybersecurity firms like CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks saw significant stock declines despite their business models being less affected by AI advancements [1] - The importance of cybersecurity solutions is expected to grow as AI-related threats become more sophisticated, yet both companies trade at high price-to-earnings multiples [1] - CrowdStrike's stock, trading at about $438, is viewed as a potential buying opportunity, while Palo Alto's weakness is also seen as an opportunity [1] Upcoming Earnings Reports - Apple is set to report earnings, with a focus on iPhone demand and management's comments on margins amid rising memory costs [1] - Other companies scheduled to report include SanDisk, Western Digital, Deckers, and Stryker, with American Express, Verizon, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Sofi, Colgate Palmolive, and Air Products & Chemicals reporting before Friday's open [1]

Software Sector Performance - The software sector is experiencing a significant sell-off, with the iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF (IGV) down over 5%, marking a decline not seen since tariff Liberation Day [6] - Major tech indices, including the Nasdaq, are also affected, alongside declines in bitcoin, gold, and silver [6] Microsoft and ServiceNow - Microsoft (MSFT) shares have dropped approximately 12%, potentially marking the seventh-worst decline in its history, despite reporting solid quarterly results [7] - Analysts indicate that the focus has shifted from demand to capacity timing and allocation, with a 66% year-over-year increase in capital expenditures raising investor concerns about the effectiveness of this investment in driving Azure growth [7] - ServiceNow (NOW) has seen a decline of over 10% despite reporting a 21.5% growth in subscription revenue, which analysts believe does not indicate acceleration [8] Other Software Companies - Other companies such as Atlassian (TEAM), Salesforce (CRM), Workday (WDAY), and DataDog (DOG) are also experiencing significant declines [8] Caterpillar's Performance - Caterpillar (CAT) reported fourth-quarter sales of $19.1 billion, exceeding the consensus estimate of $17.76 billion, with adjusted EPS of $5.16, surpassing the expected $4.71 [9] - The power and energy sales segment increased by 23% to $9.4 billion, with power generation revenue rising 44% to $3.24 billion, driven by demand related to data centers and AI applications [10] Altria and Joby Aviation - Altria (MO) is facing pressure after slightly missing profit estimates in Q4, while targeting mid-single-digit annual dividend-per-share growth through 2028 [11] - Joby Aviation (JOBY) is declining after announcing a $600 million offering of convertible senior notes and selling approximately 52.9 million shares of common stock at $11.35 per share [11] Barry Diller's Interest in CNN - Barry Diller has expressed interest in acquiring CNN and approached Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) regarding a deal last year, although no serious action was taken on his approach [12][13]

Apple Inc. has bought Israeli startup Q.ai in a deal estimated to be worth $2 billion, according to a report in the "Financial Times". The newspaper’s sources said that this was Apple’s second-biggest acquisition. The companies have not, however, officially disclosed details of the deal. Up to now, Q.ai has operated away from the limelight. It has developed artificial intelligence technology for analyzing and enriching communications and imaging experiences. According to the reports, the company develops ...