Apple's Q4 2025 Earnings Call Takeaways

[MacRumors]

Apple held its earnings call for the fourth fiscal quarter (third calendar quarter) of 2025 today. With quarterly revenue of $102.5 billion, Apple set a new September quarter revenue record, beating analyst expectations. Apple CEO Tim Cook and Apple CFO Kevan Parekh provided insight into iPhone sales, holiday quarter expectations, and more.

We've rounded up the most interesting takeaways from the call.

iPhone 17 Sales

Cook said that demand for the iPhone 17 models is "off the chart." Traffic in stores is up significantly, and Cook said that consumer reception is "very strong." Apple set a September quarter record for upgraders.

iPhone supply was constrained during the quarter, and several iPhone 17 models are still constrained. Cook said Apple is working hard to fulfill all the orders that it has.

When asked why the iPhone 17 was doing so well, Cook said the following:

I think it's all about the product. The product lineup is incredibly strong or strong as ever. The 17 Pro is the most pro phone we've ever done. It's incredible. And the design sings. The iPhone air feels so thin and so light in your hand, it feels like it's going to fly away. And then the 17 phone is an incredible value, and takes several of the features that were reserved for pro before and brings them down to the consumer lineup. So overall, strongest iPhone lineup ever, and it's resonating around the world.

iPad

Though Apple refreshed the iPad lineup with the iPad Pro, many other iPads haven't had an update as of late. iPad sales were flat, with $6.95 billion in revenue.

Half of customers who purchased an iPad during the quarter were new to the product.

Mac

Mac sales were up, thanks to the launch of new MacBook Air models this year. Mac revenue was $8.7 billion, up from $7.7 billion last year. The Mac install base reached a new all-time high.

Apple said next quarter's Mac sales won't be as impressive because of an "extremely difficult compare." Last year, Apple launched several Macs late in the year, but this year the company only released the M5 MacBook Pro.

Wearables, Home and Accessories

Apple's wearables category includes the Apple Watch and Vision Pro. Sales were slightly down at $9.01 billion compared to $9.04 billion last year.

Services

Apple's Services segment hit a new all-time revenue record, reaching $28.8 billion, up from $25 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Services set revenue records in Americas, Europe, Japan, Rest of Asia Pacific, and a September quarter record in Greater China. Payment services hit an all-time revenue record and there was double-digit growth on Apple Pay active users.

Services revenue has surpassed $100 billion for the year, up 14 percent.

Siri Revamp

Apple is still on track to release an upgraded version of Siri next year, according to Cook. Apple is also planning for more partnerships like the ChatGPT integration in Apple Intelligence.

AI

Parekh said that Apple is "significantly increasing" its investments in AI, with operating expenses between $18.1 and $18.5 billion expected.

Cook said that Apple is continuing to develop its Apple foundation models, and several are in development. But he also said that Apple continually looks at the market and is open to pursuing an acquisition if it will advance the company's roadmap.

China

Despite strong iPhone sales, revenue in China was down significantly. Cook said that China is expected to return to growth in the December quarter because of the reception to the iPhone 17.

Revenue in China was $14.5 billion, down from $15 billion last year, and below analyst expectations of approximately $16.4 billion.

Tariffs

Apple said that it had $1.1 billion in tariff-related costs in Q4 2025. Apple expects $1.4 billion in tariff-related costs next quarter, assuming that nothing changes. It does include the recent tariff change on goods imported from China, which dropped to 10 percent from 20 percent.

December Quarter

Apple CEO Tim Cook said that total company revenue would grow 10 to 12 percent year over year in the December quarter. iPhone revenue is expected to grow double digits, and Apple is projecting that it will have its best December quarter ever.

Article Link: Apple's Q4 2025 Earnings Call Takeaways

 

[Apple-achian]

I pray Tim and Kevan are adequately compensated for their superb stewardship of this great company.

 

[TimAppleObamna]

Looking good!
Though at this point, the iPhone Air will actually fly away, Tim.

 

[deaglecat]

iphone 17 is the Apple champ for 2025.

sweet spot indeed.

 

[klasma]

The 17 Pro is the most pro phone we've ever done. It's incredible.

Classic Tim!

The iPhone air feels so thin and so light in your hand, it feels like it's going to fly away.

Someone should hand him an SE1.

 

[goonie4life9]

Yesss! We got the MOST PRO phone ever! Here’s to next year, when Apple takes pro to a whole new level. Introducing the ALL NEW iPhone Pro Ultra!

 

[RALentz]

Re: the tariff costs

So, Apple can just absorb $1 billion a quarter in additional costs and not tank the stock...

So before this year they could have paid every worked $8,000 more a year. and not tanked the stock. (Estimate of 500,000 workers, which should be high from last numbers I've seen. $1,000 more for each would be $500 million. So double that for $2k each quarter, times four quarters.)

But not upsetting Trump apparently is a far higher priority than taking care of the people who work for them.
($8,000 a year is only ~$4 / hour more for a full-time employee, with roughly 2,000 hours in a work year.)

-R

 

[Analog Kid]

I think it's all about the product. The product lineup is incredibly strong or strong as ever. The 17 Pro is the most pro phone we've ever done. It's incredible. And the design sings. The iPhone air feels so thin and so light in your hand, it feels like it's going to fly away. And then the 17 phone is an incredible value, and takes several of the features that were reserved for pro before and brings them down to the consumer lineup. So overall, strongest iPhone lineup ever, and it's resonating around the world.

It is truly an art to answer a question without saying anything. Stretching "people seem to like them" into 100 words. And after all the raging debates in these forums about what's truly "Pro", it's hillarious that Apple has decided to troll the people taking that too seriously by introducing each new generation as "the most pro ever".

 

[spartan1967]

70% of people in the U.S. are living check to check. It’s nice to see they can still fit that Apple gear in the budget.

 

[txmike418]

Take some of the extra money and improve the quality control in the iOS development area. It should not take until the x.7 release for some stability IMO

 

[TVreporter]

LOL iPad sales are “flat” with just under $7B.

A number that’s bigger than the GDP of many nations - just from a tablet is mind-boggling

 

[loyalraccoon]

They should be required to separate out the money extorted from developers. Since that’s not going to happen developers themselves should set up a website or something where everyone can report how much money was taken from them. As long as everyone is locked in then Apple has no right to take anything more than the processing fee imposed by the banks.

 

[Martin Bland]

Apple is doomed. Tim, what have you done for me lately?

 

[JPack]

It's a month a half after launch and the 17 Pro Max and 17 base model is still out of stock globally, in-store and online.

Everyone is buying either top end or entry level. When was the last time you saw base model stay out of stock this long? Maybe during the iPhone 6 era?

 

[DotCom2]

The 17 Air is going to be HUGE for the holidays. Mark my word!

 

[lazyrighteye]

LOL iPad sales are “flat” with just under $7B.

A number that’s bigger than the GDP of many nations - just from a tablet is mind-boggling

I thought the same thing. Oh to be that flat. 🤪

 

[mike2q]

Apple is doomed. Tim, what have you done for me lately?

The doom has already happened. Not to the shareholders mind you but to the magic that was Apple.
It's sad to watch a once mythical and great American company devolve into nothing more than a marketing machine whose only goal is to make as much money as possible for wealthy investors. Dreamers have been replaced by accountants and Apple has been replaced by Microsoft from the 90s.

 

[sevoneone]

70% of people in the U.S. are living check to check. It’s nice to see they can still fit that Apple gear in the budget.

My guess is most iPhone owners in the US are subsidizing their phone through a major carrier and that props these numbers up a lot. When you can trade in a 3 year old phone you 100% subsidized over 3 years other than sales tax, and can get the latest phone 100% subsidized for 3 years other than sales tax and have no clue that the major carriers just build that cost into their monthly fees anyway... As the guy in the Matrix said: Ignorance is bliss.

 

[svish]

Fantastic quarter. iPhone 17 and 17 Pro/Pro Max made all the difference and also services as expected continue to bring huge revenue for Apple.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

Huge numbers, but remember... according to the usual suspects here, Apple is doomed, doooooooomed!

So glad the people in the MR forums aren't on the Board or in the C-suites.

 

[harvester32]

Re: the tariff costs

So, Apple can just absorb $1 billion a quarter in additional costs and not tank the stock...

So before this year they could have paid every worked $8,000 more a year. and not tanked the stock. (Estimate of 500,000 workers, which should be high from last numbers I've seen. $1,000 more for each would be $500 million. So double that for $2k each quarter, times four quarters.)

But not upsetting Trump apparently is a far higher priority than taking care of the people who work for them.
($8,000 a year is only ~$4 / hour more for a full-time employee, with roughly 2,000 hours in a work year.)

-R

Rather simplistic, but let's back that up a bit. Had they paid according to your plan, they would have an additional $1B in payroll (give or take a bit), and then another $1B in tariff costs. Combined, they would result in price increases, which would have negatively impacted sales. He's stuck in relation to the political climate as the majority of his factories are in China...have to tread lightly, and that requires stewardship which I think he's performing admirably.

 

[Rradcircless]

The Mac install base reached a new all-time high.

Oh gees, I wonder why ever that might be…

🪟

 

[sevoneone]

Cook said that Apple is continuing to develop its Apple foundation models, and several are in development. But he also said that Apple continually looks at the market and is open to pursuing an acquisition if it will advance the company's roadmap.

Saying "several [foundation models] are in development" is super ambiguous and could mean anything, but I really hope Apple has put down the generative "toys" and is all in focused on LLM, RAG, Coding and Tool use. Maybe they are further along this this statement makes it seem, but I'm not holding my breath.

I don't really see how Apple can do anything but buy their means of catching up. Anthropic is really the only thing that would make sense at this point, but I don't think Anthropic has anything that is going to immediately fill Apple's needs. Apple clearly wants on-device models and there is not much evidence that Anthropic has even approached versions of Claude small enough for that. Not to say they couldn't figure it out faster than Apple at this point though...

Anthropic also doesn't have generative image/video models, but honestly I don't think that is anywhere near as important as getting an on device LLM with some sort of knowlege graph based RAG that can index whatever data on device or in the cloud that user allows it to and can use any apis exposed in Shortcuts as tools.

 

[Bodhitree]

It still boggles my mind that wearables, which are essentially luxury products, are outperforming the Mac.

 

[iPadified]

Apple is not doomed but it is very sensitive to disruption at this point. Apple is polishing a few products to perfection each year but I am not sure Apple has the next big thing in the pipeline. Their chip development (which is excellent by the way) was just a reaction to Intel etc not being able to deliver and still is just a normal development with portables in mind. I lack hunger to find the next big thing - all we get is hunger for more money here and now.