Strong iPhone sales expected to power record Christmas quarter for Apple

Apple’s new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max
Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max

Apple is set to report its strongest iPhone sales growth in four years on Thursday – and likely the company’s best quarterly revenue to date – driven by robust demand for its premium Pro models as it prepares to roll out artificial intelligence features developed with Google’s Gemini technology.

Apple’s all-time highest quarterly revenue to date was fiscal Q1 2025, which covered the holiday quarter (October to December 2024, reported in January 2025) for which the company posted $124.3 billion in revenue.

Reuters:

In China and developing markets, Apple drew customers with the refreshed camera design and higher storage capacity of the latest Pro devices.

The company led the global smartphone market last year with a 20% share, according to research firm Counterpoint, up from 18% in 2024.

Overall, Apple is expected to report that iPhone sales rose 13.8% in its October-December fiscal first quarter, according to analysts polled by LSEG. That would mark the strongest growth in more than four years.

Total revenue likely increased 11.4% to a record $138.43 billion, aided by a 14.1% jump in Apple’s the services business.

In Greater China, sales likely jumped about 15%, according to Visible Alpha data.

Some investors believe Apple can make money from AI without the massive infrastructure investments pledged by its Big Tech rivals.

“Apple can probably generate a positive return on very little AI investment, thanks to its distribution,” said Gerrit Smit, manager of the Stonehage Fleming Global Best Ideas Equity fund, which holds Apple stock.


MacDailyNews Note: As usual, we’ll bring you Apple’s results as soon as they are released, right around 1:30 p.m. PT / 4:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 29, 2026 and then follow with live notes from Apple’s conference call at 2:00 p.m. PT / 5:00 p.m. ET.



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