Apple CEO Tim Cook Says iPhone Sales Were 'Simply Staggering' Towards End of 2025

[MacRumors]

Apple today reported earnings results for the fourth quarter of the 2025 calendar year, including record-breaking $143.8 billion revenue that was up 16% year-over-year. These results were driven in part by exceptionally strong iPhone sales.

iPhone revenue in the quarter was $85.2 billion, a new all-time high. That is up from $69.1 billion in the year-ago quarter, a 23% increase.

"iPhone had its best-ever quarter driven by unprecedented demand, with all-time records across every geographic segment," said Apple CEO Tim Cook, in Apple's press release announcing its earnings results. Cook told CNBC's Steve Kovach that demand for the iPhone last quarter was "simply staggering" and beat Apple's expectations.

The latest iPhone lineup includes the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple does not break down iPhone revenue on a model-by-model basis, and it did not comment on exactly which models were most popular. However, it did broadly state that iPhone revenue in the quarter was driven by the "iPhone 17 family."

The quarter encompassed the 2025 holiday shopping season, so it is safe to say that a lot of people were gifted a shiny new iPhone last month.

Article Link: Apple CEO Tim Cook Says iPhone Sales Were 'Simply Staggering' Towards End of 2025

 

[abatabia]

They got it right with the base model 17. Enough said.

 

[FattiesGoneWild]

Ah yes, the yearly iPhone no one wanted but everyone bought.

 

[Zenman12]

Well no ****. iPhone 17 was actually a leap and not incremental changes as usual.

 

[zenmacx]

They got it right with the base model 17. Enough said.

Yes they did.

In addition they proved that they could get away with reverting back to cheap aluminum after using premium titanium on the iPhone 16 Pro Models, with little or no user pushback.

 

[TVreporter]

My base 17 did all this! Enjoy that third yacht Tim!

Insane numbers and no signs of slowing down - AI or not!

 

[BeatsByTim]

We all know that. How's your apple vision pro selling, cook?

 

[Corefile]

Tim Apple needs to go. Apple have invented no real new products since Steve.

 

[sevoneone]

They got it right with the base model 17. Enough said.

And the Pro is an absolute tank of a phone that doesn't compromise on performance or battery life, just like people have been asking for years.

Two full days on one charge is easily doable. I've had my 17 Pro since launch day (132 days) and there are only 77 cycles on the battery...

 

[JPack]

It's simple. You give what people want: more battery, better cameras, new aggressive form factor. Easy win.

 

[Thisismattwade]

And the Pro is an absolute tank of a phone that doesn't compromise on performance or battery life, just like people have been asking for years.

Two full days on one charge is easily doable. I've had my 17 Pro since launch day (132 days) and there are only 77 cycles on the battery...

Same here - 73 cycles!

Last night I plugged it in to charge @ 10:30p and noticed it was at 71% after being unplugged since 5:45a. 🤣

(Granted, I'm not a target for the Pro. I bought it for the higher RAM and third camera compared to the base 17, but I should have bought the base 17. Oh well!)

 

[Apple MessagePad]

And yet the articles being run here claimed sales were flat and disappointing. But don't worry, there's no accountability. No admission that they're ever wrong and pushed a false narrative in article after article.

News organizations publish corrections and are forthright when they've been wrong. Blogs have no such journalistic standards.

 

[Radeon85]

What do you expect when this time they didn't cripple the regular line up with a crappy 60hz panel and a very low 128GB of storage.

The regular 17 is the phone Apple should have had in terms of screen and storage back in the iPhone 14 days. Even then, 256GB should have been the base storage across the entire line up for the massive price Apple charges.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

And yet the articles being run here claimed sales were flat and disappointing. But don't worry, there's no accountability. No admission that they're ever wrong and pushed a false narrative in article after article.

News organizations publish corrections and are forthright when they've been wrong. Blogs have no such journalistic standards.

Pretty much. Everyone knows very well how to pump the Apple meta-news gas by now. They just count on a significant number of people signal boosting ANYTHING about Apple, whether made up or not. 🙂

Now that earnings have been reported, it’s time to start the cycle all over again… just make sure any comments you make about how well they’re doing are like DONE before the month leading up to the next earnings!

 

[tongxinshe]

iPhone sales has reached its peak several years ago. There is no more room to significantly increase. Apple really needs to find the next market. Apple Vision / Pro needs to take off soon, otherwise Apple stock price will have to drop off, and accelerate over time.

 

[QuarterSwede]

They got it right with the base model 17. Enough said.

They got it right with the Pro too. I upgraded primarily for the vapor chamber cooling. My 12 Pro Max was near useless outside in the summer, the screen would dim so bad.

I also wanted better battery life in the smaller Pro size. I almost waited for the 18. Glad I didn’t. The 17 Pro is my favorite iPhone and I’ve been using them since the OG. I haven’t felt that way about all of the ones I’ve owned, if that says anything. Great camera system, great battery life, and it just feels great to hold.

 

[tomtad]

Now show me the revenue. Because I suspect that growth has been in the cheapest iPhone, not that I’m complaining of course

 

[kiensoy]

I thought the sales would be affected by the lack of review by John Gruber. That's the reason I didn't buy one. /s

 

[shinkansenwarrior]

Regular 17 must be selling very well no doubt. Like to know the reason Tim finally, after so many years, put pro motion on the standard modal.
But the recent pro modals color options are awful ... I liked the natural titanium finish on the iPhone 15/16. Did Meta poach all the color design coordinators from the pro division?

 

[klm9210]

Ah yes, the yearly iPhone no one wanted but everyone bought.

LIQUID GLASS ATE MY BABY!!!!

 

[vantelimus]

Yes they did.

In addition they proved that they could get away with reverting back to cheap aluminum after using premium titanium on the iPhone 16 Pro Models, with little or no user pushback.

The vast majority of users don't care about aluminum vs. titanium, especially when they put their phone into plastic or leather cases. Going back to aluminum was done for better thermal flow, not price.

 

[vantelimus]

Regular 17 must be selling very well no doubt. Like to know the reason Tim finally, after so many years, put pro motion on the standard modal.
But the recent pro modals color options are awful ... I liked the natural titanium finish on the iPhone 15/16. Did Meta poach all the color design coordinators from the pro division?

Only gear heads care about "pro motion". The average user does not. The increase in sales was predictable based on the 2-3 year upgrade cycle. COVID quarantine had people upgrading their phones out of cycle. 2025 was 3-years after then end of the quarantine.

 

[Genelec8341]

And yet the articles being run here claimed sales were flat and disappointing. But don't worry, there's no accountability. No admission that they're ever wrong and pushed a false narrative in article after article.

News organizations used to publish corrections and are forthright when they've been wrong. Blogs have no such journalistic standards.

I agree with your first paragraph; Corrected the second one.

 

[Pupi]

They got it right with the base model 17. Enough said.

You don't get a record-breaking quarter by not being successful with the Pro model, sorry to break your bubble. The Pros have been more backordered and obviously more on demand.

 

[Glideslope]

All I know is when I was in my Brick & Mortar 2 weeks ago they only had the 17 in stock. No Pro/Pro Max's. It's been a long time since I've witnessed that.