Apple's stock closed at a record high following news of strong iPhone 17 sales in the U.S. and China. Analysts highlighted that the iPhone 17 has exceeded expectations, with sales in China outpacing the previous model by double-digit percentages.

Cupertino

Apple's stock closed at an all-time high, driven by positive analyst sentiment and strong sales of the iPhone 17, especially in the Chinese market. Analysts highlighted that the iPhone 17 has exceeded expectations, with sales in China outpacing the previous model by double-digit percentages, aided by government subsidies and the popularity of the new base model.

The latest iPhone features, including new hardware designs, improved cameras, and better battery life, are credited for attracting customers more than software or AI advancements. Despite some price increases, demand remains robust, with longer lead times for orders and early indications of sellouts for new models like the iPhone Air. Apple is expected to provide further guidance in its upcoming earnings report.

Apple closes at record high after strong iPhone 17 sales report

With Apple's record high on the back of bullish analyst notes, Steve Kovac joining with those details, Steve. Yeah, closing at an all-time high for the first time, John, since the day after Christmas last year. So look, we've got a surge of optimism when we woke up this morning from analysts and the financial press today. You had Evercore adding Apple to its tactical outperform list. Luke Capital saying, quote, iPhone 17 blows past all expectations. Financial Times, this is the best iPhone cycle since COVID. And Bloomberg, iPhone 17 outselling the 16 by double-digit percentage points in China. Now, driving all this action, you have that base model of the iPhone 17 that's selling incredibly well over in China, in large part due to the subsidies from the Chinese government. We also got early indications last week, last Friday, the iPhone Air is selling out in China. That just went on sale this past Friday after a delay of a few weeks. Now, the lead times for orders are generally longer for the iPhone than they were a year ago. That's good news. It shows demand is higher. And we're getting earnings in just 10 days from today. And Evercore, in their notes, saying guidance for the December quarter could surprise to the upside. And all of this shows, guys, new hardware designs and features are just better for customers. That's what attracts them more than AI and software. That's what people want from their new iPhones. Well, Steve, I've got, you know, ChatGPT, that app on my phone. I just wonder if the AI delay was such a big miss for Apple, which the market seemed to react to. Why are people buying the iPhone 17? It's the design and the hardware changes. It's the, look, I have the iPhone Air here. It's super thin. It's a different radical design than what we've seen over the last several years. iPhone, the Pro models are also a different design. Really good camera features and extraordinary battery life. And like I said, even some of those Pro features are now trickling down to that base model of the iPhone. There were some price increases, but not what we're expecting from tariffs. And then China, again, I keep talking about this, but just seeing that resurgence of growth in China. We saw hints of it a quarter ago. We're seeing it again here in the September quarter. We'll get more details on that soon. Yeah, and of course, we have those subsidies in China helping. Yeah, big time. Which I even talked about. Steve Kovach, thank you. Thanks, guys.

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Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

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Tokyo

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Chicago

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Beijing

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Doha

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Breakdown