Shares of Apple hit a record high Wednesday, bringing its market cap within $10 billion of the coveted $1 trillion mark. The jump came after the company posted better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal third quarter and forecast revenue for the current period would be higher than analyst expectations.
While the tech giant sold fewer of its flagship iPhones than expectedー41.3 million units versus estimates for 41.8 millionーthe average selling price of $724 was above forecasts.
In a conference call after the report, CEO Tim Cook said, “We’re expanding our reach into emerging markets and seeing strong double-digit growth in revenue, and we’re making great progress toward our goal of significantly expanding our services business."
Some analysts were concerned there would be a drop off in demand for the company's highest-priced iPhone X, which sports a starting price tag of $999. The three months ending in July are often considered the most "boring" quarter for Apple, with the holiday season behind it and many customers waiting for the newest set of offerings, usually unveiled in the fall. But in an interview with Reuters, Apple CFO Luca Maestri said the iPhone X was the company's best-selling model during the quarter.
Another bright point for Appleーrevenues from its services business, which includes its App Store, Apple Music, and iCloud. Sales in that sector rose 31 percent to $9.5 billion.
The company didn't report a major impact from Chinese tariffs in the quarter, but Cook said the company would continue to monitor the situation.
Overall, revenues came in at $53.3 billion for the quarter. The company said sales for its fiscal fourth quarter, which would include early sales of its latest devices, would be between $60 and $62 billion.
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A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
