Apple's new CEO Ternus to face first earnings test as memory costs surge

On Monday, John Ternus will address his initial earnings call as Apple's CEO, with investors keen to see if the company's lineup of new products can offset the surge in memory chip prices. Ternus, who assumed leadership from Tim Cook in September, has been instrumental in launching Apple's inaugural foldable phone, smart home hub, and touch-screen laptops.

Three major concerns loom over Apple: its holiday-quarter outlook, Ternus' comments on AI and the revamped Siri, and the rising memory-chip costs that are projected to hinder quarterly profit growth. Analysts anticipate a significant slowdown in Apple's profit growth, which has weakened to its weakest level in six quarters.

Apple is attempting to differentiate its AI offerings from rivals like Meta Platforms' Meta, which recently gained popularity with its App Store rankings. However, rivals such as OpenAI, who Apple is suing over alleged trade-secret theft, are also developing devices to compete with the iPhone.

The success of Apple's AI strategy could have substantial implications for its services business, which has experienced a slowdown in growth after years of rapid expansion. Dan Morgan, a portfolio manager at Synovus Trust, emphasizes the importance of Apple's AI systems in catering to everyday users rather than just Silicon Valley insiders.

Investors currently favor Apple's stocks, with a 27% increase in share value this year. Analysts project an 11% revenue increase to $113.39 billion for the July-September period and a 6% profit rise to $29.04 billion. Despite the anticipation of strong iPhone sales, particularly the new iPhone 18 Pro models, the recently released foldable device, the Duo, has faced criticism due to display issues and longer-than-expected delivery times.