☕ Apple made $958,796 per minute this quarter, what's next

Good morning! 👋

The mainstream media is calling this earnings season “mixed” but I’m not sure we’re looking at the same numbers.

💰 81% of S&P 500 companies have beaten EPS estimates so far
💰 Nearly 70% have topped revenue forecasts
💰 The S&P 500 is still flirting with all-time highs

Think about it.

If the sky were really falling and results were truly “mixed,” the market wouldn’t be holding near record levels, let alone pushing higher.

What’s really happening is that the markets are separating winners from whiners.

Here's my playbook. 

1 – Cut through the noise

I began my day at 0300 with a quick, wide-ranging discussion on Mornings with Maria (Bartiromo). We covered a lot of territory quickly including what I make of earnings season so far, Apple, winners and whiners, Chevron and the PCE reading. (Watch)

2 – Apple made $958,796 per minute this quarter

Every quarter, the doomers show up. Every quarter, Apple shuts ‘em down.

Predictably, the headlines are all over news that China’s iPhone sales are down 11% but CEO Tim Cook laid that to rest quickly saying it was “in channel” holding things back. (Read)

He’s right, of course.

I’m more focused on the fact that the company now has 2.35B active installed devices and 1B+ paid subscriptions.

Team Cook made ~$958,796 every 60 seconds this quarter.

Apple isn’t just a stock—it’s a cash-printing machine, especially into AI hardware growth.

Betting against Apple is like trying to fight gravity. 

It’s one thing if you’re a short-term trader but just plain foolish if you’re an investor.

Keith’s Investing Tip: People who are still flipped out about DeepSeek and cheap GPUs need to hit the pause button for a moment. Using base level chip tech for AI is like using a meat cleaver to cut sushi. Specialized silicon is going to make this super cost efficient, super effective and super profitable. Three guesses what Apple is working on? Both… AI and chips… on top of everything else.

3 - Chevron “Missed” Earnings… But Met My Expectations

On the surface, a miss – and of course that’s what the media has picked up on – but Chevron more than met my expectations: (Read)

• Reported earnings of $3.2 billion; adjusted earnings of $3.6 billion
• Returned record $27 billion cash to shareholders in 2024
• Increased 2024 worldwide and U.S. production by 7 and 19 percent to record levels
• Delivered key project start-ups and milestones in the U.S. and Kazakhstan
•  Announced a 5 percent increase in quarterly dividend to $1.71 per share
  
  

Hooyah.

Oil prices are cyclical. Dividends aren’t.

Btw, the TSY (True Shareholder Yield) is north of 7% and a sign that the company is still a compelling investment choice for the income oriented.

If you know what this is and why it matters, excellent. If you’d like to learn or would find out how to line up other terrific dividend choices using TSY, I’m here.

4 - OpenAI’s latest $340B Valuation is Probably Too Low

OpenAI is currently in discussions to raise up to $40 billion in a new funding round, which could value the company at $340 billion. This would represent a significant increase from its previous valuation of $157 billion in October 2024. (Read)

That’s probably low.

Don’t get your hopes up, though.

As great as that sounds, IPOs are a rigged game being played at your expense.

We’ve talked about this many times.

The hype machine will be in full gear by the time you and I get a shot at shares. The only folks making money when it goes public will be early founders, funders, the investment bankers and their lawyers… all of whom will use your money as their exit.

Keith’s Investing Tip: IPOs are not what they used to be. Give any newly minted company a quarter to two to prove themselves, then wade in if you like what you see. Your portfolio will thank you.

5 – Atlassian pops

Atlassian blew the doors off earnings expectations (Read)

Shares have jumped 20% as I type.

Not surprisingly, AI’s the driver with robust cloud and data center solutions.

What catches my attention is a 30% growth in subscription revenue.

Hmmm.

Bottom Line

Investing isn’t rocket science.

The markets will always separate the strong from the weak.

Make sure you’re the former.

Set goals.

Have a plan.

Execute.

Let’s finish the week strong and MAKE it a great day while we’re at it.

You got this – I promise!

Keith 😀