Bloomberg Intelligence Instant Reaction: Apple Delivers Upbeat Forecast
9 snips
Jan 29, 2026 
Ed Ludlow, San Francisco tech journalist who tracks hardware and supply chains, and Mark Gurman, Bloomberg’s lead Apple reporter, unpack Apple’s record quarter and upbeat outlook. They discuss iPhone-driven momentum, rising component costs and supply-chain tactics. Conversation also covers Apple’s interim AI work with Google, small AI buys and why China sales surprised.
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iPhone Fueled Record Quarter
- Apple posted a record quarter driven overwhelmingly by iPhone strength and an install base over 2.5 billion devices.
- The results buy Tim Cook time but raise long-term questions about Apple's AI product strategy.
Supply Deals Cushion Memory Price Shock
- Apple hedges component cost risk by buying memory and other components well in advance under long-term deals.
- That supply-chain scale gives Apple pricing power versus competitors during chip-price volatility.
Apple Leverages Google For Interim AI
- Apple currently relies on Google Gemini for interim AI capabilities because it lacks large internal models.
- Pricing and competitive dynamics (Anthropic, OpenAI) shaped that partner choice.