Apple's services business remains at record levels but faces growing pressure from regulation and a slump in mobile gaming, which have weighed on App Store growth. On the earnings call, CFO Kevan Parekh said AI offers a compelling reason for customers to upgrade and switch, and pointed to opportunities across third-party apps, partnerships and first-party products, without giving details. Reuters reported that investors are asking whether Apple could profit by distributing third-party AI agents through the App Store and taking a cut of their revenue. Regulatory and legal changes have reduced App Store commission revenue in some markets, with a third-party estimate in August suggesting an 18% drop in U.S. commission revenue. Apple expects services growth of 8 to 9% in the December quarter, reflecting expected headwinds mainly from third-party licensing and an additional half percentage point of foreign exchange impact.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Read the original on Yahoo Finance ↗
Keywords
AAPLartificial intelligenceearningsregulation
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related tickers and likely impact
AAPL
▲ Likely positiveApple Inc.
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Information Technology |
| Industry | Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals |
| Market cap | $5.1T |
| Close on 11/02/2026 | 338.32 |
| Change that session | -1.83% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
Related news
- HomeView: Apple won’t sell its latest new product in Europe – for this reason
Apple has announced HomeView, a smart screen for the home that relies heavily on its new Siri AI features, but says it will not be sold in the European Union. Apple's statement says Siri AI is currently unavailable in iOS in the EU and that it is working with the EU to find a path forward. The dispute stems from EU rules meant to stop big tech companies favoring their own platforms, which could require Apple to give rival AI assistants access to the same data as Siri; Apple argues this would be unsafe for user privacy. Apple has also clashed with EU regulators over features such as alternative app stores, and the new HomePod Mini and Apple TV are likewise without Siri AI in the EU for now.
- Apple beats sales and profit expectations but AI costs weigh on holiday sales
Apple beat analysts' expectations with record revenue for the July–September quarter, driven by iPhone and services sales, but higher AI-related costs will weigh on margins. CEO John Ternus, who succeeded Tim Cook in September, said the company is closing the year with its most ambitious lineup and hinted at a strong holiday season, including the foldable Duo. CFO Kevan Parekh guided gross margin to 45% to 46%, down from 47.9% in the September quarter, citing higher memory costs and costs tied to ramping Siri AI, which uses Google's Gemini model. Analysts had expected Apple to spend about $11 billion over the 12 months to September, a fraction of the more than $700 billion that Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta are on track to spend this year. Parekh said AI gives customers a compelling reason to upgrade.
- Apple Is Up 24% in 2026: Will AAPL Stock Hit $300 or $400 Next?
Apple shares are up 24% in 2026 and traded at $336.98 in afternoon trading, while Microsoft and Google moved in opposite directions in October. Apple will report Q4 FY2026 results, the first test for new CEO John Ternus, after Q3 revenue of $109.42 billion rose 16.4% year over year. The main near-term concern is rising memory chip costs, which analysts warn could squeeze iPhone margins, while bulls point to Greater China revenue of $18.82 billion in Q3 and Apple Intelligence's planned December launch there. The consensus price target is $332.39, while 24/7 Wall St.'s model puts its base-case one-year estimate at $400.49; analyst ratings are mixed, with 6 Strong Buy, 19 Buy, 13 Hold, 3 Sell and 3 Strong Sell. At a forward P/E of 38x, the market has little room for disappointment in the new CEO's first guidance.
- Apple and Meta Just Teamed Up on AI, and Zuckerberg Thanked Apple's CEO by Name
On Oct. 15, Mark Zuckerberg publicly thanked Apple CEO John Ternus for helping the open-weights model Muse Spark Open run well on new Mac Studios. Meta says the model can run on two to four linked Mac Studios with M5 Ultra chips, marking the first public partnership between the companies since around 2017. The companies disclosed no financial terms, exclusivity or duration, and Apple shares fell 0.28% to $342.00 while Meta slipped 0.11% to $736.72. Meta's Alexandr Wang said the model is not its most capable, and a Mac Studio with M5 Ultra and 256GB of memory starts at $10,799, so the market for such setups remains niche. The article notes Meta's second-quarter diluted EPS of $6.18 missed the $7.22 estimate, so the collaboration signals warmer relations rather than a major near-term earnings driver.
- Agentic AI Skepticism: Apple and Salesforce Face a Common Issue
Apple and Salesforce both beat earnings estimates, yet investors still question whether agentic AI can generate durable profit. Apple's fiscal Q3 revenue rose 16.4% to $109.42 billion on iPhone 17 sales, which grew 22%, and one-time tariff refunds added about 11 cents to its $2.02 EPS. Salesforce's Agentforce ARR topped $1.5 billion, up more than 240%, but total revenue grew only 10.8% and operating income was flat. Apple has not finalized how it will monetize Siri AI compute costs, while only 5% of Salesforce's sales and service users have upgraded to premium editions. The author leans toward Apple for durability and Salesforce for upside, but notes Apple's valuation near 45 times earnings and says Salesforce's $25 billion buyback props up per-share results.
- Apple (AAPL) Fined In South Korea Over Unfair App Store Practices
South Korea's antitrust regulator fined Apple over alleged unfair App Store practices affecting local developers. The ruling requires Apple to revise contract terms with Korean app makers, including allowing external payment links in apps. Authorities also ordered improvements to Apple's app review procedures, focusing on transparency and the treatment of third-party developers. According to the article, the fine is small relative to a business with revenue in the hundreds of billions of dollars, with a potentially larger impact from changes to commissions charged to local developers over time. The key near-term question is whether similar contract and payment changes spread to other regions or remain limited to South Korea.
Related markets
Latest news
- Gold ring and gold bar prices on Nov 3 at SJC, PNJ, DOJI, Bảo Tín Minh Châu and Bảo Tín Mạnh Hải rise by up to 1.5 million VND per tael
Domestic gold prices rose sharply on the morning of Nov 3: SJC gold bars climbed 1.2 million VND per tael on both buy and sell sides to 138.2–141.2 million VND per tael across the surveyed brands, while gold rings gained 500,000 to 1.5 million VND per tael, with selling prices at 138–139.7 million VND per tael. On the international market, spot gold traded at US$3,952 per ounce early in the session, up 0.17%, after rising 1.84% in the week's first session and rebounding from a one-year low, as lower oil prices eased inflation concerns and a weaker dollar offered support. Markets still expected the Fed to raise rates in December, though the CME FedWatch probability fell to 76.6% from 80% a week earlier, while investors watched the US midterm elections on Nov 3.
- What Realty Income (O) Said on Its Q3 Earnings Call
Realty Income (O) reported third-quarter AFFO of $1.12 per share, up 3.7% year over year, and raised its 2026 AFFO guidance to $4.45–$4.46 per share. The company invested about $2.6 billion in the quarter, with Europe accounting for 42% of pro rata volume at a 6.8% initial cash yield, and activity shifting toward industrial, logistics and credit assets. It expanded funding through euro-denominated debt, convertible notes, asset sales and a €528 million joint venture with KKR, helping preserve investment spreads despite higher interest rates. The company sourced a record roughly $59 billion of potential investments and reaffirmed its $10 billion investment-volume target.
- Economy awash in money: government has over US$11 billion surplus, yet people still struggle as public investment projects fall behind schedule and over budget
Ireland expects a budget surplus of nearly €10 billion (US$11.2 billion) next year, yet many residents still struggle: 51% of surveyed people say managing finances has become much harder, nearly 18,000 people are homeless, and housing, health and transport face strain. About half of corporate tax revenue comes from 3 US companies, Apple, Eli Lilly and Microsoft, and around €23 billion of next year's corporate tax is expected from overseas activity taxed in Ireland. Excluding this unusual revenue would turn the surplus into a deficit of over €13 billion next year, possibly reaching about €20 billion by the end of the decade. To prepare for this unstable income, Ireland set up 2 national investment funds, which could reach a combined size of about €50 billion by 2030.
- Russia faces record attack with air defenses given just “15 minutes”: Kremlin retaliates, 9 missiles fly in unexpected directions
According to Warfiles, Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia are growing in scale, and Russian air defenses intercepted and destroyed 1,214 Ukrainian UAVs in the previous day alone. Military expert Yuri Knutov said Western satellites update images for Ukrainian UAV operators every 15 minutes, forcing Russia to quickly adjust its air defense positions. Ukraine reportedly intends to raise UAV use to 2,000 per day, supported by production and assistance from the UK, Poland and Germany. In response, around 3 a.m., 9 Russian ballistic missiles were recorded heading to locations other than those Ukraine had predicted, while the southern bridge in Kyiv had only partly reopened after damage. Air Force Major General Vladimir Popov said Ukraine would struggle to use the bridge for military cargo if it remains a target.
- Binance begins second withdrawal phase following record hack
Binance will start a second phase of cryptocurrency withdrawals on Tuesday, following last week's $6.3 billion hack. From 04:00 UTC on Tuesday, withdrawals for additional assets will resume progressively as security and readiness checks are completed, after an initial reopening on Nov. 1. The exchange said it prioritized tokens based on user demand over the past week, and deposits remain available. Networks in the second phase include Binance Smart Chain, Ethereum, Solana, XRP Ledger, Sui, Arbitrum, Optimism, Tron and Base.
- Apple suppliers split in Asia as strong iPhone sales meet rising memory costs
Apple-linked suppliers traded unevenly across Asia: LG Innotek fell 4.6%, SK Hynix 3.5%, Samsung Electronics 3.3% and Largan Precision 4.2%, while Goertek gained 2.7% and Luxshare Precision 0.6%. Apple's September-quarter iPhone revenue rose 17.5% year on year to $57.6 billion on strong iPhone 18 Pro demand, but it forecast December-quarter gross margin of 45%-46%, down from 47.9%, as memory costs rise. Supplier results were mixed: LG Innotek's revenue rose 18.6% but operating profit fell 53.4% on currency swings, and Largan's gross margin hit a 13-year low of 42.21%. Samsung and SK Hynix fell despite record quarterly earnings on AI memory demand, possibly reflecting profit-taking after their previous-session rally.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.