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

Apple Inc. reported its highest-ever quarterly revenue, buoyed by strong demand for the iPhone 17 lineup in India and other emerging markets, underscoring the country’s growing importance to the company’s global growth strategy.

Revenue for the quarter ended December 27 climbed nearly 16% from a year earlier to $143.8 billion, while net income rose to a record $42.1 billion. The iPhone was the primary driver, generating $85.3 billion in sales.

Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said momentum in newer markets is accelerating, with India standing out. “We continue to gain momentum in emerging markets, which includes India, where we saw strong double-digit revenue growth,” Cook said on the earnings call. He added that the iPhone set “all-time” records across “every geographic segment.”

The results highlight Apple’s push to broaden its user base beyond mature markets such as the US and Europe, with India increasingly central to both sales growth and manufacturing expansion.

Apple’s fast-growing Services business also reached a milestone, with revenue hitting $30 billion for the first time. The segment, which includes the App Store, Apple Music and iCloud, benefited from a rising installed base that now exceeds 2.5 billion active devices worldwide.

The company is also stepping up investment in “Apple Intelligence,” its artificial intelligence (AI) platform. Apple confirmed a collaboration with Google to support future foundational models, a move aimed at making Siri more personalised and capable through a combination of on-device processing and private cloud computing.

However, Mac revenue slipped 7%, reflecting tough year-on-year comparisons, while Wearables declined 2% amid supply constraints for the new AirPods Pro 3.

“During the December quarter, our record business performance and strong margins led to EPS growth of 19%, setting a new all-time EPS record,” Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh said. “These exceptionally strong results generated nearly $54 billion in operating cash flow, allowing us to return almost $32 billion to shareholders.”

Apple said it expects momentum to carry into the spring quarter, even as it contends with rising costs for memory components, a pressure point for the broader consumer electronics industry.