Apple set for strongest June-quarter sales growth in 5 years

The consumer electronics giant raised iPad and MacBook prices last month as it sought to offset cost increases from a shortage of memory and storage chips caused by massive AI datacenter buildouts.

But the company spared its cash cow, iPhones, even as rival smartphone makers were forced to pass on the higher costs that prompted a decline in global smartphone shipments in the April-June quarter, to the lowest in 13 years.

Apple’s decision paid off: iPhone shipments rose 3% and the company’s market share climbed to nearly a fifth, estimated research firm Counterpoint.

This, and the fact that it has not spent hundreds of billions of dollars on data centers, have helped it reclaim the title of the world’s most valuable company from Nvidia after two years as doubts about the AI boom grow.

Apple shares, up nearly 25% so far this year, briefly pushed the company’s market value above $5 trillion for the first time on Tuesday, and have widely outperformed the rest of the stocks among the "Magnificent Seven."