Welcome to the Tech meme right home for Friday, January 31st, 2025. I'm Brian McCullough today.

Apple's earnings are decidedly mixed. Mark Zuckerberg's complaints about everything he says leaking,

leaked, and there are a lot of interesting details in those leaks.

Looks like the SoftBank and Open AI courtship is a serious one,

and if the marriage happens, looks like arm holdings can be leveraged for the dowry. And,

of course, the weekend long-read suggestions. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech.

Apple reported earnings last evening, and this is basically the textbook definition of mixed.

Yes, they had record revenue in their Q1 up 4% year on year, but iPhone revenue was down

1% and came in below estimates. Mac and iPad sales were both up 15%, but the wearables and

accessories category was down 2%. Are you sensing a trend here?

Tim Cook took time to point out that there are now more than 2.35 billion active Apple devices

worldwide, which is a new all-time record. Amazing, right? Yeah, but sales of Apple devices in China

were down 11% to $18.5 billion, the largest drop in China since

Q1 of 2024, quoting CNBC. Apple said it expected growth in the March quarter of low to mid

single digits on an annual basis. The company also said it expected low double digits growth

for its services division. Apple's iPhone miss versus

estimates was the biggest for the company in two years since its first quarter earnings

report in fiscal 2023. At the time, Apple said its miss was because it was unable to make

enough iPhone 14 models because of production issues in China, end quote. Yes, but Apple's services reached an all-time high of $26.34 billion in

Q1, up 14% year-on-year, beating estimates and helping lift the company's gross margin to a record

46.9%. Quoting CNBC again, CEO Tim Cook's emphasis on services has transformed Wall Street's view of a company that's been defined over the decades by its iconic devices. For many years in the iPhone era, Apple's gross margin would predictably come in at between 38 and 39%, reflecting the company's tight grip over its supply chain and its pricing power in the market. But with iPhone

growth slowing in recent years, Apple's move into services has changed the equation. The company

...