It’s a reminder of CEO Tim Cook’s unparalleled mastery of the controls that keep the $3.8 trillion company humming along.

But it’s also a reminder of the challenges facing Apple, and the limits of the company’s leadership in an emerging market. Apple has proven once again that it can make, ship, and sell hardware better than anyone else on the planet, especially when supply chains are under pressure. When it comes to a vision for AI though, Apple, and Cook, are tight-lipped.

Result: Despite the blowout quarter, Apple stock floundered, gaining a measly 0.2% in after-hours trading.

Starting off well, Apple’s fiscal first quarter results were good. Revenue of $143.8 billion was up 16% year-over-year and more than the $138.5 billion analysts were expecting. Net income rose 16% to $42.1 billion, or $2.84 per share, compared with the $2.67 per share analysts had expected.

The stars of the report are iPhone sales, which increased by 23% year-on-year thanks to the new iPhone 17 model, and Apple’s business in Greater China, which increased by 38% to $25.5 billion. Traffic at Apple’s retail stores in China rose by a double-digit percentage from last year, Cook said, while sales of iPhones in China recorded their best quarter ever.

The launch of the iPhone 17 family of phones has clearly boosted a business that had started to slow down. iPhone sales growth has averaged just 4.2% over the past six quarters. But now demand is so strong, Cook said, that Apple is constrained by its ability to get enough of the advanced 3-nanometer chips that power the phones.

Tim Cook is, of course, a master of supply chains. Before succeeding Steve Jobs as CEO, Cook was Apple’s longtime chief operating officer, overseeing the vast network of partners and suppliers that underpin Apple’s products. That prowess was on display Thursday, with Apple predicting healthy overall sales growth of 13% to 16% for the current quarter, and solid gross margin of 48% to 49% of revenue.

One analyst on the earnings call declared himself “surprised” by how strong Apple’s gross margin was. After all, the analyst noted, the prices of the memory chips used in Apple products are currently through the roof, and the supply is severely restricted, because the chips are also in high demand for all the AI ​​data centers being built.

Another AI cipher

At a time of market uncertainty, including wildcards like tariffs, Cook and Co. makes a strong case that the business is in good hands. If the company’s plan for AI seems promising.

Asked about recent company deal to associate with Google for Siri’s AI capabilities, the timeline for the return on investment in AI, and for other updates on its AI efforts, Apple executives served canned non-answers.

“We’re taking the intelligence that people love more and we’re integrating it across the entire operating system in a personal and private way, and by doing that it’s creating tremendous value,” Cook said.

What portion of Apple’s installed user base will have phones with enough horsepower to run the advanced AI Siri due later this year? We can’t tell you, but it’s “growing,” replied Apple CFO Kevan Parekh.

Sure, many companies are secretive about product plans and strategies. Google is famous for avoiding questions by uttering platitudes in its calls. The problem for Apple is that its AI efforts so far have been riddled with embarrassing mistakes and delays. The company promised advanced AI features two years ago, and has so far failed to deliver anything of note. The recently announced deal to use Gemini with Google for the next version of Siri is widely seen as an admission of Apple’s struggles to develop its own AI models at home.

Apple’s iPhone business is on fire again, but it’s not clear what Apple will get when the fire goes out.