Apple heads for largest Q3 revenue drop

Apple is likely to report a dip in iPhone sales in the April-June quarter as shoppers held out for a new model in a slow economy, making it important for the company to detail how it is using artificial intelligence to augment growth, analysts said.

The world's most valuable firm will wrap up Big Tech earnings on Thursday, with a likely 1.6 per cent drop in total quarterly revenue, according to Refinitiv - its steepest drop in third-quarter revenue since 2016.

IPhone sales likely fell more than 2 per cent in the period, according to 24 analysts polled by Visible Alpha, compared with a near 3 per cent increase a year earlier and a 1.5 per cent rise in the quarter ended March.

The quarterly report could mark a break from an upbeat earnings season for the likes of Meta Platforms, Alphabet and Microsoft that have shown resilience in their cloud businesses and an uptick in digital ad sales.