<p>Apple has concluded a busy week of earnings reports from mega-cap companies by delivering a robust quarter on Thursday evening. CEO Tim Cook’s strategic decision to reveal his impending departure before the financial results were released ensured that the company’s stellar performance would not be overshadowed. For the fiscal 2026 second quarter, which ended on March 31, Apple’s revenue surged 17% to $111.2 billion, significantly surpassing the $109.7 billion consensus forecast according to LSEG. Earnings per share also climbed 22% to $2.01, beating estimates of $1.95. AAPL 1Y mountain Apple 1 year performance This quarter marks the best March performance in the company’s history, driving Apple’s stock up 4% in after-hours trading to approximately $282. If the stock closes at that level on Friday, it will be just below its record high set in December. Bottom line Although Cook will stay on for a short while longer, it is evident that incoming CEO Jon Ternus is stepping into a powerful position. Sales exceeded expectations across all product lines and the highly lucrative services segment, which saw accelerated sequential growth. Even more impressively, earnings growth outstripped revenue growth as Apple expanded profit margins for both products and services beyond street expectations. Apple once again set a new all-time high for its installed base of active devices, surpassing 2.5 billion across all categories and regions. This is vital because, while details on Apple’s Siri AI initiative are still pending, Cook confirmed on the earnings call that a “more personalized Siri” is indeed coming this year. The opportunity for Apple to fully enter the generative and agentic AI arena remains as strong as ever. Apple has partnered with Google for its AI efforts, and Cook noted, “We’re happy with the work that we’re doing independently as well.” While Services significantly boosts earnings thanks to a gross margin nearly double that of the products segment, the active device installed base is the gateway for these high-margin services. A larger base means a larger total addressable market for Apple’s lucrative offerings. Additionally, the board approved a new $100 billion share repurchase program and a 4% increase to the cash dividend. Notably, CFO Kevan Parekh stated on the call, “We plan to continue our capital allocation philosophy of first making all the necessary investments needed to support the business and then returning excess cash to shareholders over time. Net cash neutral has been a valuable framework for our capital structure. Since 2018, we have significantly rightsized our balance sheet and reduced net cash by over $100 billion. As we move ahead, we are no longer providing net cash neutral as a formal target, and we will independently evaluate cash and debt.” We do not anticipate this to be an issue, as management still views buybacks as a key driver of shareholder value. Why we own it Apple’s dominant hardware and high-margin services create a deep competitive moat and ample bundling opportunities. Competitors: Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO, Dell , and HP Inc. Most recent buy : April 8, 2014 Initiation : Dec. 2, 2013 These results reinforce why you shouldn’t try to trade around a consistently top-tier name like Apple. You hold it for the long term. Despite concerns over tariffs, energy costs, and rising memory expenses—which likely impact Apple’s profit margins the most—the team navigated these challenges excellently. While memory prices will remain a headwind in future quarters, we are confident management will continue to handle the environment effectively. We believe the stock’s recovery from the Iran war March low is now justified. With an AI update expected later this year, the groundwork is set for shares to hit new highs. We are reiterating our $300 price target and hold-equivalent 2 rating . CEO Transition Explaining his decision to announce his departure now, Cook cited several reasons. “First, our business has been performing extremely well. The first half of this year was very strong, growing double digits year over year. Second, our roadmap is incredible. Most importantly, we have the right leader ready to step into the role. As l have said, there is no one on this planet I trust more to lead Apple into the future than John Ternus.” Cook added, “John is a brilliant engineer, a deep thinker, a person of remarkable character, and a born leader. I know he will push us to go further than we think is possible in order to deliver the greatest products and services for our users. I have been so proud to call him a colleague and a friend, and I will be even more proud to call him Apple CEO. Over the coming months, John and I will be working closely together to make sure this transition is perfectly smooth.” Cook will transition to executive chairman on Sept. 1. Ternus also joined the call, saying, “It means a great deal to me to have Tim’s trust and confidence. … As you know, one of the hallmarks of Tim’s tenure has been a deep thoughtfulness, deliberateness, and discipline when it comes to the financial decision making of the company. I want you to know that as something Kevin [Parekh] and I intend to continue.” Ternus continued, “When I transition into the [CEO] role in September, this is an especially exciting moment for Apple. As Tim mentioned, we have an incredible roadmap ahead. While you are not going to get me to talk about the details of that roadmap, suffice it to say this is the most exciting time in my 25-year career at Apple to be building products and services.” Quarter commentary Products revenue rose 16.7% year over year to $80.21 billion in fiscal Q2, beating the $78.21 billion estimate. Similar to the previous quarter, hardware strength was driven by robust iPhone demand, with sales growing nearly 22% to $56.99 billion, surpassing street expectations and setting a March quarter record. On the call, Cook stated the iPhone 17 lineup is the most popular in company history. Some data provider estimates have suggested iPhone results might have missed, but based on FactSet estimates, it was a beat. More importantly, iPhone sales growth was impressive, especially considering Cook mentioned on the conference call that the flagship product faced supply constraints. This iPhone growth accompanied year-over-year sales increases across all other product categories, from Mac to iPad to Wearables, Home & Accessories. All product lines exceeded expectations. The 5.7% increase in Mac sales included the debut of the MacBook Neo in the March quarter. Neo is a lower-cost laptop designed to capture share from Windows-based laptops and Chromebooks. Product gross margin was also a highlight, rising 276 basis points, or 2.76 percentage points, to 38.7%, beating the 36.6% estimate. Services revenue, which reached an all-time high, saw growth accelerate slightly from about 14% in fiscal Q1 to just over 16% in fiscal Q2, resulting in a $600 million beat versus expectations. Services revenue encompasses Apple TV, advertising, cloud services, music, payment services, and App Store sales. Service gross margins expanded 93 basis points, nearly 1 percentage point, to 76.7%, edging out the 76.3% estimate. Outlook Apple’s revenue outlook for the current June quarter (fiscal 2026 third quarter) surpassed the consensus view. June quarter revenue is projected to increase by 14% to 17% versus the prior year, a much stronger forecast compared to estimates for about 9% growth. To quantify this, Apple’s growth guidance implies revenue between $107.2 billion and $110.02 billion. For comparison, the LSEG consensus stands at $102.93 billion. Services revenue is expected to grow in the June quarter at a similar pace to the just-reported quarter, minus the impact of foreign exchange dynamics, which contributed just over 2.5 percentage points of growth in the March quarter. Companywide gross margin for the June quarter is expected to be between 47.5% and 48.5%, exceeding FactSet’s midpoint estimate of 47.6%. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long AAPL. See here for a full list of the stocks.) 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