Apple CEO Tim Cook offered the company’s first comments on the impact of President Trump’s tariffs during Thursday’s second-quarter earnings call with investors. While the iPhone maker saw only “limited impact” from tariffs in the March quarter, Cook said Apple couldn’t forecast what that would mean for the coming quarter. However, if things remained the same, the company estimates tariffs will only add $900 million to its costs in Q3.
The news was a relief to investors, with one even calling it a “pretty good outcome.” However, investors were still concerned as to what the next quarters could hold, given the rapid changes to U.S. trade policy in recent weeks.
Cook told investors Apple’s estimate was meant to provide some color and would only hold if the current global tariff rates, policies, and applications didn’t change for the balance of the quarter and if no new tariffs were added.
He also warned that this estimate shouldn’t be used to project the impact of tariffs in future quarters, as there are “unique factors” that benefit the June quarter.
In an interview with CNBC, Cook had downplayed the impact of tariffs, noting that Apple is already sourcing about half its iPhones for the U.S. from India, and most other products for the U.S. market from Vietnam.
When pressed by one investor to offer more details on the June quarter and beyond, Cook said, “I don’t want to predict the future, because I’m not sure what will happen with the tariffs.”
Cook added that he wouldn’t want to predict the mix of production in the future, but noted that he was very engaged with the tariff discussions. (That much was already clear. Shortly after a meeting with President Trump, Apple’s iPhones were spared from the trade policy changes that could have sent iPhone pricing soaring.)
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“For our part, we will manage the company the way we always have, with thoughtful and deliberate decisions, with a focus on investing for the long term, and with dedication to innovation and the possibilities it creates,” Cook said. “As we look ahead, we remain confident, confident that we will continue to build the world’s best products and services, confident in our ability to innovate and enrich our users’ lives, and confident that we can continue to run our business in a way that has always set Apple apart.”
Topics
Apple, Commerce, Tariffs
Sarah Perez
Consumer News Editor
Sarah has worked as a reporter for TechCrunch since August 2011. She joined the company after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to her work as a reporter, Sarah worked in I.T. across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software.
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