I WOULD BE SURPRISED IF IT IS. Y YOU MIGHT HAVE ANOTHER YEARLEST. >> LET'S BRING IN GENE MUNSTER FROM DEEPWATER ASSET MANAGEMENT. YOUR TAKE ON THE QUARTER SO FAR? >> QUARTER WAS A RELIEF. SURPRISED TO HEAR -- THRILLED TO HEAR TIM GIVE THE GUIDANCE TO STEVE, THAT WAS RARE, BUT THE GUIDANCE FOR JUNE, THE REVENUE GUIDANCE WAS ALSO A RELIEF, ESSENTIALLY IN LINE WITH THE STREET, UP 1.5% IS PROBABLY WHERE IT'S GOING TO FALL OUT SO, THAT STUCK OUT TO ME, AND I THINK THE NEAR TERM, I PUT THAT THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR, WE HAVE A BUSINESS THAT WAS DOWN 5% IN THE MARCH QUARTER, IT'S GOING TO BE UP A COUPLE PERCENT IN JUNE, ABOUT 4% IN SEPTEMBER, AND 6% IN DECEMBER AND SO, YOU COMPARE THAT TO THE LAST EIGHT QUARTERS, WHERE APPLE'S BUSINESS HAS BEEN DOWN NEGATIVE 0.3%. AND SO, YOU SEE THIS KIND OF RETURN TO GROWTH IT IS COMPING OFF AN EASIER iPHONE CYCLE AND DAN POINTED OUT SOMETHING THAT IS AT THE BACK OF MY MIND, AND TOP OF MY MIND, GOING INTO THIS CALL, THEY DID SAY -- DAN MENTIONED THAT CORRECTLY, TIM COOK MENTIONED SOMETHING IN HIS PREPARED REMARKS, SO FAR ON THE CALL, THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE MAKING SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS AND SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS, WE SAW WHAT HAPPENED TO META WITH THAT, AND MY VIEW, MORE SPENDING ON A.I. INFRASTRUCTURE IS A POSITIVE BUT THAT IS WHAT I'M EAGERLY AWAITING FOR ON THE CALL, IS TO HEAR HOW THAT SPEND IS HAPPENING, SO, THOSE HAVE BEEN A COUPLE THINGS THAT HAVE POINTED OUT. ONE MORE, MELISSA, WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO GUESS WHAT THEY'RE DOING IN A.I., WHAT THAT'S GOING TO BE ABOUT, TIM MENTIONED IN THE PREPARED COMMENTS THAT PRIVACY IS GOING TO BE ONE OF THEIR KIND OF FOUNDATION PIECES, AND THAT'S IMPORTANT, BECAUSE IT'S A SIGN THAT THEY PROBABLY WANT TO PURSUE A PLAN IN THIS AGENT-BASED PERSONALIZED A.I THIS IS, YOU PROMPT IT, AND IT GOES OUT AND DOES A SERIES OF TASKS FOR YOU BASED ON A SINGLE PROMPT EXCITING STUFF WE MAY OR MAY NOT SEE THAT IN JUNE, BUT I THINK THAT THAT'S THE -- KIND OF THEIR LONG-TERM VISION, RELATED TO A.I >> LET'S SAY WE DON'T SEE IT IN JUNE, BUT WE GET A TEASER IN JUNE FOR IT, GENE, WILL WE SEE IT IN THE NEXT iPHONE, NEXT GENERATION OF iPHONE, SO THAT IT WILL BE A CATALYST FOR SALES, OR AS DAN MENTIONED, WILL WE SEE A WHOLE CYCLE SKIPPED IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, MASSIVE UPTAKE OF THE NEW iPHONE AND WE HAVE TO WAIT, INVESTORS WOULD HAVE TO WAIT FOR ANOTHER YEAR OR SO >> WELL, APPLE IS FULLY ONBOARD WITH THE OPPORTUNITY AROUND A.I., I MEAN, IT IS A REMARKABLE CHANGE IN TIM COOK'S PREPARED REMARKS RELATED TO IT, AND I THINK THAT SPEAKS TO HOW THEY'RE GOING TO WANT TO TALK ABOUT THEIR PRODUCTS AND I SUSPECT THIS FALL, IT MAY NOT BE CALLED iPHONE A.I., BUT IT'S GOING TO BE iPHONE 16 A.I., AND I THINK THAT THEY'RE GOING TO MAKE HAY WHEN THEY CAN AND KIND OF PLAY INTO THIS IT'S NOT JUST -- IT'S NOT JUST HYPE THERE'S A TON OF SUBSTANCE AROUND IT. AND I EXPECT THAT THESE A.I. TOOLS, THE INITIAL ONES, ARE GOING TO BE SOMETHING SIMPLE LIKE, USE YOUR PHONE AND ASK SIRI TO BOOK YOU AN UBER TO THE AIRPORT, SOMETHING LIKE THAT, BUT I THINK THAT THEY WILL PROBABLY PERFORM BETTER ON NEXT GEN PHONES, AND THIS IS A REALLY EXCITING TIME AND TECHNOLOGY, AND I THINK THAT THAT WILL BE A BOOST TO THIS NEXT CYCLE, SO -- I THINK THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE PLAYING IT UP, AS THEY SHOULD. >> LET'S ASSUME THAT THAT IS IN THE NEXT GENERATION, WHERE DOES APPLE TRADE FROM HERE, GENE? AND DO YOU THINK THAT 7% IN THE AFTERHOURS, IS MOST OF THAT EXCITEMENT AROUND THE BUY-BACK >> I THINK IT'S -- I THINK THE BUY-BACK IS PART OF IT, I THINK THE PIECE THAT SURPRISED ME MOST IS THEY ESSENTIALLY MAINTAINED THEIR REVENUE GUIDANCE WE'LL HEAR THE EARNINGS IN A MINUTE, BUT THAT REALLY SURPRISED ME I WAS EXPECTING THIS WAS GOING TO BE FLAT, SOME INVESTORS WERE SAYING IT WAS GOING TO BE DOWN A FEW PERCENT IN JUNE. I THINK THAT WAS A BIG PART OF THE KIND OF THIS MOVE HIGHER THEY'LL REITERATE THAT IN THE COMMENTARY, SO, THAT WAS THE BIGGEST PIECE. THERE IS THE CASE THAT, AS YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT, AS I'M WORRIED ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE SPENDING IN CAPEX, THE FACT THAT THEY BUMPED UP THEIR DIVIDEND IS A SIGN, I THINK DAN WAS COMMENTING ABOUT THIS, IS A SIGN THEY PROBABLY FEEL GREAT ABOUT THEIR PROFITABILITY, TOO, SO -- BIG PICTURE IS, APPLE'S FRANCHISE, THEIR BUSINESS, IS IN TACT IT HASN'T GROWN FOR TWO YEARS, BUT I THINK IT'S POSITIONED TO START TO SLOWLY ACCELERATE, AND SHOULD HAVE A NICE BENEFIT IN '25 AND BEYOND AS THEY BUILD THESE A.I. TOOLS THAT THEY'LL CHARGE FOR >> HEY, GENE, IF I THINK ABOUT THIS OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS OR SO, AND OBVIOUSLY FOR MICROSOFT, IT'S MUCH MORE THAN THAT, BUT YOU KNOW, THESE THREE COMPANIES, MICROSOFT, ALPHABET, AND OBVIOUSLY META, HAVE BENEFITTED FROM, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING CLOUD-BASED GENERATIVE A.I., AND SO, WHEN YOU THINK OF THE HYPER SCALERS, WHAT'S GOING ON WITH GCP AND AZURE AND AWS, THAT'S BEEN BIG FOR THEM. WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE GENERATIVE A.I. STORY ON DEVICE FOR APPLE, I DON'T HAVE THE SAME THROUGH LINES AS HOW IT BENEFITS THEM, BECAUSE YOU JUST USED AN EXAMPLE, HEY, SIRI, BOOK ME AN UBER TO THE AIRPORT, WELL, WE ALL HAVE TEN YEARS OF PTSD USING SIRI THIS IS GOING TO TAKE AWHILE, YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING FOR AN APPLE AND SO, I JUST DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYTHING THEY CAN COME OUT BETWEEN NOW AND SEPTEMBER WHEN THEY HAVE THAT iPHONE EVENT THAT'S GOING TO CAUSE A BIG UPGRADE CYCLE. >> I THINK ONE PIECE THEY CAN DO, AN EASY PIECE THEY CAN DO IS TALK ABOUT SILICON, AND PLAY UP THAT OPPORTUNITY ABOUT HOW THIS IS GOING TO RUN SOME OF THESE MODELS BETTER. THAT'S GOING TO BE SOME BENEFIT TO, I THINK, TELLING THE iPHONE STORY. BUT I THINK THIS OTHER -- THIS OTHER LAYER TO IT, MORE IMPORTANTLY, AROUND APPLICATIONS, THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO CREATE PRODUCTS THAT ARE SO COMPELLING IT MAKES PEOPLE WANT TO BUY THE HARDWARE THEY WILL BE SUCCESSFUL AT DOING THAT, BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY'RE DOING AROUND PRIVACY, SO, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE THAT COULD DO IT. AGREE WITH YOU ON HOW THE WORLD AND MYSELF FEELS ABOUT SIRI. IT'S A PRETTY LOW BAR, AND PEOPLE LOVE APPLE PRODUCTS, AND I THINK THEY'LL BE WILLING TO TRY IT IF SIRI ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING FOR YOU, THAT WOULD BE A MOMENT WHERE YOU'D PROBABLY GIVE IT A BIG HUG -- HUG YOUR PHONE, IT'S BEEN SO BAD OVER THE LAST SEVEN YEARS, SO, BIG PICTURE, I THINK THEY CAN SELL BOTH HARDWARE AND THEN, AGAIN, DOWN THE ROAD, THIS AGENT-BASED PERSONALIZED A.I., I THINK THEY CAN ACTUALLY CHARGE, JUST LIKE GPT DOES, THEY HAVE A FREE VERSION, THEY HAVE PAID
