Apple Delivers On Cook’s Promise With Record Q1 Revenue, iPhone Sales

• Earnings also beat market estimates, with Q1 earnings per share coming in at  $2.84, 19% higher year-on-year compared to last year, and above analyst estimates of $2.67.
• Apple’s sales in China grew about 38% to $25.5 billion in the quarter, up from $18.5 billion. 
• The tech giant now has more than 2.5 billion active users, the most on record thus far.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) reported its first-quarter (Q1) 2026 results after-hours on Thursday, beating street expectations for revenue and earnings, on strong iPhone sales and a rebound in the China market.

During Apple’s fourth-quarter (Q4) earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said the company expected its December quarter to be its best on record.

On a call with investors, Cook said that Apple was reporting its "best-ever quarter,“ also adding that, "this was in so many ways a remarkable quarter for Apple, and we're excited for all the opportunities we'll have in the year ahead to deliver innovations that have never been seen before.”

Shares of AAPL surged over 1.17% after-hours at the time of writing.

Q1 Earnings Snapshot

The iPhone maker posted revenue of $143.8 billion, 16% higher than $124.3 billion from the same period last year. The latest revenue numbers beat street expectations of $138.22 billion as per data on Fiscal.ai based on 31 analyst estimates.

Earnings also beat market estimates, with Q1 earnings per share coming in at  $2.84, 19% higher year-on-year compared to $2.4 last year, and above analyst estimates of $2.67, as per Fiscal.ai data.

“The demand for iPhone was simply staggering,” said Cook on the earnings call, adding that it hit “all-time records across every geographic segment.”

Meanwhile, Apple’s sales in China grew about 38% to $25.5 billion in the quarter, up from $18.5 billion. Cook also noted that revenue touched all-time records across markets, including the U.S., China, Latin America, Western Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and South Asia, including India.

The tech giant now has more than 2.5 billion active users, the most on record thus far.

Q2 Forecast

Apple’s CFO Kevan Parekh announced that the company expects a revenue growth of 13% to 16% year-on-year in its March quarter, given constrained iPhone supply for the period.

Apple expects its Services revenue to grow similar to its December quarter, at about 14% year-on-year. The company estimated operating expenses of between $18.4 billion and $18.7 billion.

Apple also declared a cash dividend of $0.26 per share of common stock, payable on Feb. 12, to shareholders of record as of Feb. 9.

AI Audio Startup Acquisition

Earlier on Thursday, Reuters reported that Apple had acquired Israeli artificial intelligence (AI) audio startup Q.ai. A separate report from Financial Times reported that Apple paid nearly $2 billion for the startup as it gears up to build AI devices.

The deal comes as Apple has been expanding AI features, especially in its AirPods earbuds, as it competes with peers to race ahead in the AI battle.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around AAPL shares jumped from ‘bullish’ to ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, message volumes rose from ‘high’ to ‘extremely high’ levels.

One bullish user said the company’s share price would go to $280 tomorrow.

Another bullish user hoped for the price to go to $270 tomorrow, saying Apple is good at inventing strong business models.

However, one bearish user warned that while the earnings were great, rising costs are weighing down on the company.

Shares of AAPL have gained almost 8% in the past year.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Also Read: Amazon Mulls Up To $50B Investment In OpenAI: Report

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