AAPL
DIA
SPY
The numbers are the warm-up act
Apple is heading into its Q2 print Thursday after market close, and the bar is doing what Apple bars usually do: floating somewhere near the stratosphere. Analysts are looking for $109.68 billion in revenue and $1.94 in EPS, which would keep the company’s long streak of beats alive if Cupertino can pull it off again.
But the real call is about the future
Sure, the quarter itself matters. But this one has a little extra soap opera energy. Investors want to know whether iPhone and Services growth can keep doing the heavy lifting while China remains a giant question mark and costs keep creeping higher like an annoying subscription you forgot to cancel.
AI, CEO handoff, and all the other awkward questions
Then there’s the fun stuff: Apple’s AI strategy, how it plans to make money from it, and what the Tim Cook-to-John Ternus transition really means for the next chapter. That’s a lot to squeeze into one earnings call, especially when the market is already treating Apple like the homecoming king of the S&P 500.
Why you should care
Apple is a top holding in SPY, DIA, and XLK, so this isn’t just an AAPL story — it’s a “check your whole portfolio” story. If Apple surprises on growth or gives the market something concrete on AI, that could spill over into the broader tech trade fast. Big picture: this isn’t just about one quarter. It’s about whether Apple can keep being Apple while also pretending it’s a brand-new company.