Apple's quarterly financial profit exceeds forecasts

Apple's quarterly profit increased compared to the previous year, the company announced. The results beat analysts' forecasts and boosted its shares.

The iPhone maker reported $21.4 billion in profit for the three months ending in June, on $85.8 billion in revenue for the period.

Revenue was a new record for the June quarter and a five per cent jump compared to the previous year, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said, quoted by AFP.

Cook added that the company is looking forward to sharing with users the new tools that include Apple Intelligence -- referring to the suite of artificial intelligence features.

Apple is under pressure to win approval over its AI strategy after Microsoft and Google released products in quick succession. The Cupertino company introduced Apple Intelligence in June.

"For better or worse, Apple has tied its AI efforts to other key areas of its core business, particularly the iPhone," said Emarketer analyst Jacob Born.

He specified that the effectiveness of AI investments will be assessed mainly through device sales and potential subscription revenue growth.

Apple reported iPhone revenue of $39.3 billion for the quarter, slightly below the same period a year earlier.

The company saw steady growth in the iPad segment with revenues of $7.2 billion.

Apple noted that it reached a new peak in the number of active devices in various geographic segments, without specifying specific figures.

The company's shares were up 0.5% in over-the-counter trading. | BGNES