What's going on?

Apple�s toiling and tinkering led to expectation-beating results last quarter.

What does this mean?

Apple�s iPhone sales, the company�s pride and joy, staged a remarkable comeback last quarter, outshining a shrinking smartphone market and growing revenue compared to the same quarter last year. That rebound balanced out less-than-stellar sales of Macs and iPads � and while the ever-lucrative services segment (including Apple TV, Music, and iCloud) may not have exceeded expectations, it still managed to chalk up sales growth of 5%. All in all, Apple put in a solid performance, with folks using more of its products than ever before. And with a $90 billion share buyback program thrown into the mix, it�s no surprise relieved investors initially sent the stock up.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: The Apple of my AI.
It�s AI-mania in the tech world these days, with heavyweights like Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon going all-in on uber-trendy artificial intelligence. And while Apple � the biggest of them all � seems to be playing it cool, it�s actually weaving a little AI magic into its own offerings, spicing up user experience and rejigging product use cases. There�s also plenty of AI under the hood of Apple�s self-driving car project � and the tech world�s abuzz with reports it�s working on an AI-powered health coach too.

For markets: Big Apple.
This has been a strong earnings season for Big Tech, with all the usual suspects smashing through analysts� expectations. And with their cash-rich balance sheets also luring investors in a so-called �flight to safety�, last week Apple and Microsoft made up a bigger proportion of the S&P 500 than ever before. In fact, around half of the total gains clocked up by the S&P 500 this year have been down to the two giants. And while that�s impressive, it�s risky too: any tumble in those titans� values could rock the index to its core.