The key facts

  • Apple CFO Kevan Parekh spoke of 'opportunities' in third-party apps and AI partnerships but gave no details
  • Reuters: investors are discussing whether Apple could make money by distributing third-party AI agents through the App Store with a share of their revenue
  • According to third-party estimates from August, App Store commission revenue in the US fell 18%, with declines also in Brazil and Japan

A hint without specifics

Apple's services business remains at record levels but is facing growing pressure, TechCrunch reports. On Monday's earnings call, the company signaled that it may look for additional sources of services revenue through third-party apps, but did not clarify what exactly that means. CFO Kevan Parekh, speaking about how AI could 'over time contribute to revenue growth,' said: 'On the product side, we believe AI provides a compelling reason to upgrade and move to new devices for the latest capabilities, and we also see opportunities in third-party apps and partnerships, as well as in our own developments.' He did not reveal what those opportunities are.

The investors' scenario

According to Reuters,which TechCrunch cites, investors are wondering whether Apple could make money by distributing third-party AI agents through the App Store and taking a share of the revenue they generate. This is merely a market assumption: the company itself has not announced such a plan, and TechCrunch said it had requested comment from Apple.

Why Apple is looking for new sources

The context in which the statement was made is the weakening of the services business's main asset, the App Store. Regulatory and legal changes have cut commission revenue in a number of markets: according to third-party estimates from August, commission revenue in the US fell by 18%, with declines also recorded in Brazil and Japan after new rules were introduced there. The Epic Games lawsuit ultimately forced Apple to allow apps to redirect users to external payment systems, while other lawsuits around the world further complicated the business. On the call itself, Parekh confirmed that in the September quarter App Store performance was roughly on par with last year, while the number of paid subscriptions hit a record and third-party app subscriptions grew at double-digit rates; the decline in mobile gaming, he said, will continue into the next quarter as well. The services growth forecast for the December quarter is 8–9%, with caveats regarding third-party licensing and currency exchange rates.