iPhone and iPad maker Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) reported Q4 CY2025 results beating Wall Street’s revenue expectations, with sales up 15.7% year on year to $143.8 billion. Its GAAP profit of $2.84 per share was 6.4% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

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Revenue Growth

Apple (with its installed base of 2 billion+ devices) proves that huge, scaled companies can still grow. The company’s revenue base of $294.1 billion five years ago has increased to $435.6 billion in the last year, translating into a decent 8.2% annualized growth rate.

In light of its big tech peers, however, Apple’s growth trailed Amazon (14.1%), Alphabet (18.1%), and Microsoft (14.8%) over the same period. Comparing the four is relevant because investors often pit them against each other to derive their valuations. When adjusting for these benchmarks, we think Apple is a bit expensive.

We at StockStory emphasize long-term growth, but for big tech companies, a half-decade historical view may miss emerging trends in AI. Apple’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed as its annualized revenue growth of 6.3% over the last two years was below its five-year trend.

This quarter, Apple reported year-on-year revenue growth of 15.7%, and its $143.8 billion of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 4.1%. Looking ahead, sell-side This projection illustrates the market sees some success for its newer AI-enabling Apple Intelligence products. However, its anticipated growth is still a far cry from its heyday in the 2010s.

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Products: Steve Jobs’s Legacy

Apple’s Products segment includes everything from its flagship iPhone, iPad, and MacBook computers to AirPods and Apple Watch. We are closely monitoring whether the GenAI-powered Apple Intelligence, which was released in September 2024 but has limited interoperability with older devices, can spur an upgrade cycle for the company.

Products sales are by far the biggest chunk of Apple’s revenue at 74.1%, and they grew by 6.3% annually over the last five years, slower than total revenue. Recently, sales have also decelerated a bit, growing at an annual clip of 4% over the last two years. Apple could really use that upgrade cycle right about now.

This quarter, Products sales were up 16.1% year on year, topping Wall Street’s estimates by 5.2%. Holding aside expectations, the recently improved rate of change shows that more customers are upgrading their devices than before. We’ll be watching to see if Apple Intelligence and iOS 18 can accelerate this trend. Wall Street seems to believe it won't move the needle.

Key Takeaways from Apple’s Q4 Results

We were impressed by how significantly Apple blew past analysts’ revenue expectations this quarter. We were also glad its operating income outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. On the other hand, the all-important Services segment missed on revenue. Zooming out, we think this was still a good print with some key areas of upside. The stock traded up 1.1% to $261.14 immediately after reporting.

Sure, Apple had a solid quarter, but if we look at the bigger picture, is this stock a buy? The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).