Apple's fourth-quarter revenue edged past analysts’ estimates despite a surprise sales decline in China, where it’s been struggling to stage a comeback. Total sales rose 7.9% to $102.5 billion in the period, which ended Sept. 27, the company said in a statement Thursday. That slightly beat the $102.2 billion average estimate. The company benefited from stronger-than-expected services growth, helping offset the China slowdown. The Mac and wearables division also performed better than anticipated. Apple shares gained more than 3% in late trading after the results were released. They had been up 8.4% this year through the close.

For more, Bloomberg Businessweek Daily spoke with Jay Goldberg, Senior Analyst, Semiconductors & Electronics with Seaport Research Partners and Mark Gurman, Bloomberg News Managing Editor for Global Consumer Tech.

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Amazon's cloud unit posted the strongest growth rate in almost three years, reassuring investors concerned that the largest seller of rented computing power was losing ground to rivals. Amazon Web Services posted revenue of $33 billion, an increase of 20% from the prior year and the biggest year-over-year rise since the end of 2022. Analysts, on average, estimated 18% growth. The shares jumped about 10% in extended trading after closing at $222.86 on Thursday. The stock has lagged behind that of its industry peers this year, with investors worrying that the company has yet to benefit enough from its AI products. Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google have both generated faster growth in their cloud computing businesses than AWS.

For reaction, Bloomberg Businessweek Daily spoke with Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Analyst for E-Commerce and Athleisure Poonam Goyal, Ed Ludlow, host of Bloomberg Tech Ed Ludlow, and Eric Clark, Chief Investment Officer at Accuvest Global Advisors.

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- Stuart Kaiser, Head of Equity Trading Strategy at Citi
- Leland Miller, CEO of China Beige Book
- Sonal Desai, CIO for Fixed Income at Franklin Templeton
- US Energy Secretary Chris Wright

Stuart Kaiser, Head of Equity Trading Strategy at Citi, talks big tech earnings and the Fed's path forward following Wednesday's rate cut. Leland Miller, CEO of China Beige Book, discusses the state of US-China trade relations after President Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea. Sonal Desai, CIO for Fixed Income at Franklin Templeton, reacts to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's commentary leaving a December rate cut in doubt. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright breaks down the logistics of a potential US-China energy deal.

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