--- title: "Tim Cook's last earnings call coincided with a critical juncture for Apple, with the company's stock price at an all-time high" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/294213575.md" description: "Apple CEO Tim Cook attended the last earnings call, with the company's market value surpassing $5 trillion, setting a new historical high. However, due to tight supply of storage chips, Apple has raised the prices of iPad, Mac, and expected iPhone, with an increase of 10-20%. At the same time, the new version of Siri has not been launched, indicating its lag in the AI field. Analysts predict a slowdown in revenue growth for this fiscal quarter, and the price increase may affect demand during the peak season, with global smartphone shipments also facing the risk of decline" datetime: "2026-07-29T13:07:51.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/294213575.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294213575.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/294213575.md) --- # Tim Cook's last earnings call coincided with a critical juncture for Apple, with the company's stock price at an all-time high In the same week that Tim Cook attended his last earnings call as Apple's CEO, the iPhone manufacturer briefly surpassed a market value of $5 trillion, overtaking Nvidia to become the world's most valuable company. However, Apple currently has no time to celebrate. Despite Apple's stock price reaching an all-time high with a 25% increase this year, outperforming other major tech giants, the company is facing a tight supply of memory chips. The competition for chip production capacity is intensifying, forcing Apple to raise the prices of its hardware products. Meanwhile, the new version of Siri has not yet been released to the public, which clearly reflects Apple's significant lag in the field of artificial intelligence. Last month, Apple raised the prices of its basic iPad and Mac models by at least $100, citing a global shortage of memory chips, with some models seeing price increases of over $1,000. Analysts expect Apple to raise iPhone prices this year as well. At the same time, Apple launched a new plan on Tuesday in collaboration with the buy now, pay later service provider Klarna: U.S. consumers can rent an iPhone for up to two years, with monthly rents starting at $17.99. Some devices have seen price increases of up to 20%, with the price adjustment announcement made at the end of the last fiscal quarter, and the impact of the price hikes on performance will be reflected in this fiscal quarter. Analysts predict that for the quarter ending in June, Apple's total revenue will grow by about 16% year-on-year, while revenue growth for this fiscal quarter is expected to slow to 12%. For investors, a more critical question is: how will the price increases affect product demand in the December quarter — a period that has historically been Apple's peak sales season. Market research firm Counterpoint Research predicts that global smartphone shipments will decline by nearly 14% this year, marking the largest drop since 2013. The low-end smartphone market is under the most pressure, as manufacturers struggle to pass on the soaring costs of memory chips, primarily impacting Android phones. Goldman Sachs analysts released a report this week stating that as competitors raise prices, Apple is likely to gain market share. Goldman Sachs maintains a buy rating on Apple stock. Although Apple issued a supply chain warning in June, it has not yet raised iPhone prices or adjusted iPhone shipment expectations, but some analysts have already downgraded related profit models. Some analysts believe that relying on strong brand power, price increases could actually boost Apple's profitability. Morgan Stanley analysts stated in a report last week: "We still believe Apple's fundamentals are very strong, and over the next 6 to 18 months, multiple rounds of price increases are expected to drive revenue and earnings per share upward." The firm is optimistic about Apple stock but has lowered its Mac shipment expectations for the September quarter by 8% due to supply issues. The shortage of memory chips is the biggest short-term challenge facing Apple, but in the medium to long term, the company's artificial intelligence strategy may pose a greater threat to its business. Apple has not heavily invested in self-developing AI infrastructure or operating high-end large models; most of its AI technology is obtained through licensing from Google, while relying on Google Cloud for related business. According to FactSet data, major hyperscale cloud providers have significantly exceeded $100 billion in capital expenditures this year, with some companies potentially surpassing $200 billion; Analysts expect Apple's related investments to be slightly above $11 billion, with $3.4 billion invested in the most recent quarter. BlackRock analysts released a report this month stating, "Initially, many investors were bearish on the company because Apple did not dive into the large model investment wave, but now investors are gradually recognizing that Apple has industry-leading free cash flow." The firm maintains a buy rating on Apple stock. Before selecting Google as a partner, Apple's main AI partner was OpenAI, at which time ChatGPT was integrated into Siri and other modules of the operating system. Now, the cooperation between the two parties is nearly broken. Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on July 10, accusing it of stealing trade secrets, which OpenAI denies. The new version of Siri was launched in a testing version in June and is expected to officially go live this fall alongside the new iPhone. Apple needs this product to gain widespread market recognition, and thereafter, it must continuously roll out more AI features to keep pace with the rapidly evolving industry. With the upcoming appointment of Ternus as CEO, Apple may be preparing to increase its investment in the AI field. During Cook's tenure, the company has consistently generated ample cash flow, repurchasing over $1 trillion in stock. In the last earnings report, Apple adjusted its cash management policy. 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