Global smartphone revenue rose 7% year-on-year in Q2 to an historic $109 billion, the highest second-quarter total on record even as shipments declined, Counterpoint Research revealed.

The disconnect between rising revenue and falling volumes was driven by average selling prices (ASPs), which rose 17% to a record high of $400, fuelled by sustained demand for premium devices and memory-driven price hikes across Android portfolios.

Apple was the standout performer, with revenue up 22% to the brand’s highest-ever Q2 total.

The growth was supported by a 13% rise in shipments alongside an 8% increase in ASP, pushing Apple’s revenue share to a record 49%.

Counterpoint Research director Tarun Pathak said Apple’s performance was underpinned by sustained demand for the iPhone 17 line-up, particularly the base 17 and 17 Pro Max, which kept the sales mix skewed toward premium smartphones.

Unlike rivals which pushed through steep price increases, Apple largely held pricing steady, a move Pathak said reflects the company’s ability to absorb rising bill-of-materials costs and stay comparatively insulated from the industry’s memory chip crunch.

He cautioned Apple would likely raise prices in coming quarters, but believes the pricing discipline so far has strengthened its competitive position, enabling growth in both value and volume.

China, Europe and emerging markets were strongholds, as Apple’s stable pricing improved its relative value proposition against widespread Android price hikes.

Samsung ranked second with a 16% revenue share, with both revenue and shipments up 9% helped by steady Galaxy A-series demand and continued momentum from the Galaxy S26 series, along with strong growth in North America and the Middle East and Africa.

Xiaomi posted the steepest shipment decline among the top five brands, down 26%, dragging revenue down 17% despite a 13% rise in ASP as the company pushed toward higher-value devices.

Oppo and vivo also saw revenue fall, down 10% and 11%, respectively.

Senior analyst Shilpi Jain said the market has entered a phase where value, not shipment volume, is the primary growth driver, with OEMs increasingly passing higher component costs on to consumers.

With memory shortages showing no near-term signs of easing, the research company expects further price increases and steeper shipment declines across the industry in the second half of 2026.

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Infrastructure company Azio AI Holdings signed a master services agreement (MSA) with AT&T worth roughly $2.4 million to provide enterprise fibre connectivity for its first AI data centre campus.

The deal covers a 500-megawatt site and establishes a standardised connectivity framework across the campus, delivering the high-capacity, low-latency network infrastructure needed to support AI training, inference, GPU cloud computing, enterprise colocation, and other high-performance computing workloads.

Azio said the connectivity buildout is intended to streamline network deployment as it brings on additional customers under its hyperscale AI strategy. The company pointed to a recent power purchase and hosting agreement with a GPU customer, which it said will require a rapid, modular buildout at the Texas site.

“This agreement establishes the networking framework supporting our initial 500-megawatt Texas AI platform while creating a scalable operating model that can support future expansion as additional projects move forward under our hyperscale AI strategy,” Azio COO Elgin Tracy stated.

The company’s broader strategy centres on scalable, liquefied natural gas-backed energy capacity intended to meet rising demand for GPU cloud and AI workloads.

It stated the Texas site was picked in part due to the location being able accommodate large-scale industrial infrastructure without the land-use and community constraints which can complicate data centre projects in urban areas.

The agreement adds AT&T to the growing list of telecoms operators positioning themselves as connectivity partners for the AI infrastructure buildout, as data centre operators race to secure the fibre capacity needed to link GPU clusters to enterprise and hyperscale customers.

Azio did not disclose a timeline for construction completion or when the Texas campus is expected to become operational.

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Tim Cook’s last earnings call as the CEO of Apple covered record revenue across iPhone, Mac and services despite ongoing supply constraints for memory chips.

Revenue in its fiscal Q3 2026 (the period from 29 March to 27 June) was $109.4 billion, up 16.4% year-on-year.

Cook (pictured) took the helm from Apple co-founder and chief Steve Jobs in 2011, when the company posted annual revenue of $108 billion.

“It’s a special privilege to be part of people’s lives in lasting and meaningful ways, helping them to create, connect and experience the world around them,” Cook said on the earnings call.

“The transition is going seamlessly, and I am beyond excited for John [Ternus] to step into his new role and lead Apple into its next era.”

Tariffs
Apple’s booked a $0.11 per-share boost from tariff refunds, which added roughly two percentage points to gross margin after the US Supreme Court struck down a tranche of the Trump administration’s fees earlier this year.

“Last year, we made a $600 billion commitment to the US over four years and now, as we said before, we plan to reinvest the tariff refunds we’ve received into the US,” Cook said.

“We’re pleased with the progress we’ve already made advancing the American supply chain.”

Cook highlighted Apple sourcing more than 100 million components from a TSMC production facility in the US state of Arizona as an example.

“We could not be more pleased with how that fab has ramped and is producing for us.”

Siri AI
He noted positive developer reviews of Siri AI, which was introduced at WWDC in June.

“I think it’s a very big idea to have AI that’s private, that’s based on your personal context and that’s integrated across the operating system.”

Siri AI is scheduled to be released in September alongside iOS 27 and the iPhone 18 line-up.

Cook noted Apple is working closely with the European Commission to make the assistant available on devices in the European Union and said the company recently received approval to ship some of the original features of Apple Intelligence for use in China.

“We’re working now through the rollout of those and there will be more work required down the road for Siri AI,” he said. “But we’re at the front end of that.”

Supply chain
Apple flagged persistent supply constraints heading into the current fiscal quarter, forecasting revenue growth of 9% to 11%.

Cook described the memory chip shortage driving the pressure as a “hundred-year flood,” warning Apple expects to keep paying more after three consecutive quarters of price increases, albeit with some inventory offset and reductions in other components.

Numbers
Net income rose 27.1 per cent to $29.8 billion.

iPhone revenue rose 21.7% to $54.3 billion, which Apple branded a record for the period.

Greater China revenue rose 22.4% to $18.8 billion.

Service revenue was $30.7 billion and Mac revenue rose 28.7% to $10.3 billion.

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Mobile World Live brings you our top three picks of the week as Apple unveiled its device leasing programme, Orange struck a data centre JV deal and Amazon Leo plotted expansion.

Amazon Leo readies 5K satellites for D2D plan

What happened: Amazon Leo applied to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deploy up to 5,105 direct-to-device (D2D) satellites, advancing its ambition to deliver voice, messaging, data and emergency connectivity services to standard mobile devices.

Why it matters: In its FCC filing, Jeff Bezos-backed Amazon Leo explained its D2D system would communicate directly with existing mobile hardware using dedicated L-band and S-band spectrum links, potentially setting the stage to better compete against SpaceX’s Starlink service, among others.

“The newly filed application for Amazon’s next-generation LEO D2D constellation is massive,” said independent consultant Carlos Placido. “Although the system is planned to deploy 5,105 satellites beginning in 2028, the filing defines a total of 11,045 orbital positions.”

Amazon Leo readies 5K satellites for D2D plan

Apple lifts lid on US device leasing service

What happened: Apple fleshed out Apple Upgrade, a direct-to-consumer hardware leasing programme backed by Klarna Group, offering US customers monthly payment options across its iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, and iPad product lines.

Why it matters: Apple confirmed the programme offers dual tenure options per category. iPhone and Apple Watch plans offer 12- and 24-month lease terms starting at $17.99 and $11.99 per month, respectively. CEO and marketing director of PP Foresight Paolo Pescatore stated the arrangement responds to rising device prices and longer consumer ownership cycles by shifting focus from high upfront costs to manageable monthly payments, making premium devices feel more accessible and encouraging regular upgrades.

“However, this is more than another payment option,” he said. “It marks a significant shift from owning devices to accessing them through an ongoing leasing relationship. This gives Apple another way to stimulate demand without resorting to aggressive discounting, while keeping customers within its family of products and exerting greater control over the upgrade, trade-in and return cycle.”

On the consumer front, he explained lower monthly payments will be attractive, but the apparent flexibility carries important trade-offs. Customers do not own the product during the lease, AppleCare costs extra, damaged devices can incur charges, and upgrading or leaving early could require them to pay the remaining lease payments.

“The total cost and end-of-term choices must therefore be made crystal clear,” he said. “Otherwise, consumers could find themselves locked into a perpetual cycle of monthly payments without building any ownership or resale value.”

Apple lifts lid on US device leasing service

Orange plots data centre JV with global investor

What happened: Orange agreed a deal with global infrastructure investor Morrison to create a jointly controlled data centre company in France, a move designed to meet rising demand for AI services in the country.

Why it matters: Orange said the 50:50 JV will support the development of its existing French data centre portfolio and target 400MW of capacity, almost 10 times its current level. To boost the entity, the operator said it will contribute five major data centres across four campuses in France, along with its operational expertise and commercial reach. The duo anticipate an investment of around €3 billion, utilising Orange’s existing assets, while Morrison will make an equity contribution.

“Orange Business will leverage this platform for its customers to accelerate its trusted AI and trusted cloud business ambitions,” Orange CEO Christel Heydemann explained on an investor call. “The value creation for Orange will therefore materialise through revenue upsides and dividends inflows.”

Orange plots data centre JV with global investor

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AT&T switched on a dedicated standalone (SA) 5G core for public safety network FirstNet, which the operator described as the first and only such nationwide network built specifically for first responders.

The new core is physically separate from AT&T’s commercial network infrastructure, a design intended to give public safety agencies greater security, reliability and control over their connectivity.

AT&T stated the architecture was shaped by feedback from first responders and is intended to meet operational needs which differ meaningfully from everyday consumer use.

Scott Agnew, president of FirstNet at AT&T, said the SA core was purpose-built around the mission of public safety rather than adapted from a consumer network.

“This milestone keeps America’s public safety network strong for the future, because when our first responders succeed, our communities are safer.”

AT&T stated the dedicated core functions as the central nervous system for the FirstNet network, keeping public safety traffic separate from commercial traffic.

It runs across multiple geographically-distributed core sites to add redundancy, an approach AT&T stated improves performance and resilience.

The upgrade also brings faster upload data rates and improved responsiveness, capabilities AT&T stated are increasingly necessary as first responders adopt connected tools including body-worn cameras and mission-critical communications applications.

Security beyond the standard measures used on commercial networks is built into the core.

Access is restricted to devices using a FirstNet SIM, which it stated protects subscriber data from potential attackers, while a dedicated security operations centre monitors the network around the clock for threats.

Adaptive Mission Performance
AT&T positioned the service as groundwork for a broader initiative called Adaptive Mission Performance to tailor network performance to specific public safety applications and use cases rather than relying on a single network slice from commercial infrastructure.

The operator stated it plans to deploy the capabilities over time as more subscribers migrate to the new core.

FirstNet subscribers are already being transitioned to the new core at no additional cost.

While laying claim to a nationwide launch, AT&T did note the service requires a compatible device and plan, and it is not available everywhere.

The operator deployed its SA 5G core in 2025, five years later than T-Mobile US.

Verizon Frontline rolled out its service in select markets in 2025.

T-Mobile and Verizon are using their SA 5G cores to provide network slicing for first responders.

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Meta Platforms revealed a dramatic acceleration in its infrastructure commitments, disclosing in a regulatory filing it has secured $279 billion in off-balance sheet lease obligations primarily dedicated to expanding its AI capabilities.

The future costs, which exist on top of its active leases, comprise short- and long-term agreements covering data centres, co-location facilities and certain network infrastructure.

The total for uncommenced lease commitments as of the quarter ended 30 June represents a 53% surge from the $183 billion reported in the previous period.

The social media giant is showing no signs of slowing its aggressive AI buildout, adding an extra $68 billion in commitments during July alone, with those leases slated to commence in 2027 and 2028.

The disclosure comes alongside mounting investor pressure on CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Meta’s stock fell today (30 July) following a disappointing Q3 revenue forecast yesterday which heightened investor scrutiny over the company’s massive capital expenditures on AI.

During the Q2 earnings call, Zuckerberg said Meta could sell compute directly to large enterprises but stated the social media giant believes there will be a “significantly higher margin on selling [super]intelligence rather than selling compute directly”.

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Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg (pictured) outlined his high-stakes vision for AI across consumer and enterprise markets during a Q2 investor call, casting the technological transition as a massive commercial opportunity despite heavy infrastructure outlays and operational charges weighing on profitability.

Zuckerberg detailed three primary expansion pillars driving Meta’s long-term strategy. He noted AI investments are actively boosting performance across the main portfolio by improving user experiences, optimising return on investment for advertisers and enabling internal product teams to ship software faster.

Looking ahead, Zuckerberg stated that Meta is “developing new personal agents that will be the foundation for our next wave of products and revenue lines in the months and years ahead”.

Expanding beyond consumer applications, he highlighted a growing commercial footprint, pointing to “a large enterprise opportunity to sell to businesses, including APIs, business agents, potentially selling compute directly, and other services that we’re building for large customers”.

Q2 financial performance
Meta delivered strong Q2 top-line performance, driven by continuous gains across its AI-enhanced advertising suite, though rapid infrastructure spending and operational charges squeezed overall profitability below Wall Street expectations.

Meta generated $60.8 billion in revenue, representing a 28% increase compared to $47.5 billion in the same period last year. However, net income dropped 14% to $15.8 billion.

Advertising revenue accounted for $59.8 billion of total sales, up 28% year-over-year. This growth was supported by high adoption of AI automated ad features, with ad impressions growing 14% year-over-year across its Family of Apps and the average price per ad climbing 12%.

Family Daily Active People reached an average of 3.6 billion in June, reflecting a 3% increase year-over-year.

Total costs and expenses surged 55% to $42 billion, heavily weighed down by $2.4 billion in legal proceeding charges as well as $1.2 billion in severance expenses following restructuring in May.

Driven by the aggressive capex ramp and operational charges, free cash flow dropped 91% year-over-year to $784 million, compared to $8.5 billion in the prior-year period.

Capital expenditures jumped to $31 billion from $17 billion, including principal payments on finance leases, as Meta continued to scale its computing infrastructure, servers, and data centres to expand generative AI capabilities.

Looking ahead, the social media giant issued a Q3 revenue forecast of $61 billion to $64 billion.

For the full year, Meta maintained its capital expenditure guidance at $130 billion to $145 billion and anticipates total expenses between $165 billion and $169 billion, while reiterating full-year operating income is expected to exceed prior-year levels.

Highlighting engagement growth across its app suite, Zuckerberg noted Threads crossed 500 million monthly active users, “making it the fastest-growing conversation app ever,” while Facebook reached more than 2 billion daily active users a while ago.

“WhatsApp just hit an all-time messaging record, peaking at 30 million messages sent per second during the World Cup final,” he said.

Meta’s Reality Labs division, which houses the company’s VR and AR hardware efforts including Quest headsets and smart glasses, continued to weigh on overall profitability.

The unit posted an operating loss of $4.6 billion, widening slightly from a year earlier, on revenue of just $431 million, up from $370 million in the same period last year.

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Dell’Oro Group revealed mobile operators have spent 208% more on standalone (SA) 5G than they had on 4G core functions at the same point in the technology’s lifecycle.

The company stated the long-term outlook for SA 5G technology is good, despite forecasting growth in the core network sector to moderate over the next two years.

In a report, the company stated the substantial financial commitment on SA 5G highlights the inherent architectural complexity and the broader strategic value of next-generation core networks compared with LTE deployments.

Explaining the timing behind the investments, senior director Sian Morgan noted the sequential release of 3GPP standards created an initial offset between early 5G RAN spending and deployment of SA cores.

Despite those early delays, the technical sophistication of SA 5G “is driving cumulative vendor revenues much higher” than LTE evolved packet core achieved at an equivalent point in its deployment timeline.

Morgan said SA 5G revenue is yet to reach its peak because the majority of mobile operators worldwide have yet to make commercial services widely available to customers.

Dell’Oro noted near-term headwinds as memory shortages drive server prices up, prompting operators to scrutinise project costs.

Morgan predicts a return to double-digit revenue growth in 2028.

Dell’Oro forecast growth in the next five years to be fuelled by the EMEA region. It increased its expectations for 4G core revenue after gains in 2025 and identified AI as providing opportunities to boost efficiency, though warned over potentially higher costs.

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Qualcomm reported fiscal Q3 results which beat Wall Street’s revenue expectations but missed on profit, as the chipmaker continued to grapple with the impact of a memory supply crunch weighing on the smartphone sector.

The company posted revenue of $9.9 billion for the quarter ended 28 June, down 4 per cent from $10.4 billion a year earlier but ahead of the roughly $9.7 billion analysts had expected. Net income during the period was $2 billion, down 25% year-on-year.

Handset chip sales fell 20% to $5.1 billion, which Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon (pictured) stated reflected a bottoming out in the China market after OEMs pulled back on orders amid memory supply uncertainty.

“We actually don’t expect fundamental changes in the premium tier and the higher tier volume,” Amon said on the company’s investor call.

Going forward, the executive expects Apple-related revenue to decline sharply and faster than previously anticipated, after Qualcomm’s share of components in the upcoming iPhone range came in well below an earlier estimate of around 20%.

Amon said the company is offsetting the loss with growth elsewhere, including its emerging data centre business, which it expects to generate $5 billion in revenue by fiscal 2027.

“We expect Android to grow and significantly offset the reduction in Apple, and then data centre revenue that starts to ramp in the fourth quarter,” CFO Akash Palkhiwala said.

Amon said its Q3 results reflected “solid execution of our growth strategy” despite the challenging environment.

He noted Qualcomm is taking steps to protect margins going forward, including raising prices across its chip portfolio from 1 September, as component costs continue to climb.

Automotive remained a bright spot, with revenue reaching $1.59 billion which marked a 61% increase and the 23rd consecutive quarter of double-digit year-on-year growth for the segment. Qualcomm reiterated a target of $10 billion in annual automotive revenue by fiscal 2029.

IoT revenue was $1.83 billion, representing a 9% increase. Combined automotive and IoT revenue climbed 28%, underscoring the company’s push to diversify beyond its traditional handset business as it also builds out a data centre and custom silicon strategy with a leading hyperscaler.

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Google expanded its Play Age Signals API to all developers globally, part of a broader push to help parents and app developers deliver safer, age-appropriate experiences on Google Play.

Currently available in Brazil, the tool will be introduced to users in Australia and Canada by mid-August, with a full global rollout planned later this year, according to Paul Feng, Google Play’s vice president of product management.

The Play Age Signals API is designed as a privacy-preserving tool that lets parents share their child’s age range, such as 16-17, directly with apps, while also allowing adults to share their own age when prompted by developers.

Developers then receive these signals to tailor in-app safety settings and content to match their audience, rather than applying uniform rules across all apps regardless of content type.

Feng stated the approach gives developers flexibility to choose protections appropriate to their app’s nature, noting a weather app shouldn’t require the same safety settings as an entertainment or media app.

For parents, age-sharing controls are centralised within the Google Family Link app rather than requiring configuration across individual apps.

Once a parent chooses to share a child’s age range, all Play apps using the API can receive that signal, letting children access age-appropriate content without manual setup in each app. Google said age ranges are never shared by default, and parents can update or disable the settings at any time.

The API builds on Google Play’s existing safety infrastructure, including mandatory safety standards for apps designed for families, ongoing app reviews and scanning, and tools such as Restrict Minor Access within the Play Console, which helps developers manage who can discover their apps.

Family Link continues to serve as a central dashboard for parents to manage screen-time limits, PIN-based content filters and app download approvals.

Google positioned the global expansion as an addition to its existing safety suite, aimed at helping parents and developers collaborate to make Google Play safer and more trustworthy for families.

The expansion comes as lawmakers and regulators around the world are increasingly pressuring app stores to provide better protections for minors.

Earlier this year, Apple pushed out age verification rules across a range of its services in the UK, responding to pressure from the government around ensuring safety on the internet for younger users.

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Bain Capital and Tillman Global Holdings revealed a $1.5 billion investment in Eaton Fiber to accelerate the expansion of Verizon fibre broadband to more than 1 million locations outside the operator’s existing US footprint.

Eaton Fiber is an affiliate of Tillman which serves as Verizon’s exclusive wholesale fibre-building partner

The investment fully funds Eaton Fiber’s acquisition of Ripple Fiber, a fibre-optic internet provider, alongside the next phase of Eaton Fiber’s network expansion.

The Ripple Fiber deal marks the first step in a buy-and-build strategy aimed at bringing Verizon fibre broadband to more locations through a combination of organic construction and further acquisitions.

Ripple Fiber’s existing shareholders, Platform Investment Partners and KLT, will continue backing the Eaton Fiber platform alongside Tillman and Bain Capital.

The deal builds on a commercial agreement between Verizon and Eaton Fiber fannounced in October 2025, under which the latter funds, builds, maintains and operates fibre network infrastructure, while Verizon serves as the exclusive retail provider for residential and small business fibre services, handling sales, marketing and customer service.

Verizon CEO Dan Schulman stated expanding Verizon fibre’s reach is central to the company’s growth and convergence strategy, describing the partnership as a capital-efficient model to extend its fibre broadband experience beyond its core footprint.

As part of the transaction, Verizon will acquire Ripple Fiber’s existing customers, who will transition to Verizon’s fibre broadband platform over time with uninterrupted service, along with a small portion of Ripple Fiber’s network and related assets adjacent to or partially within Verizon’s existing footprint in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Tillman co-president and Eaton Fiber co-founder Sachit Ahuja said the Ripple Fiber acquisition strengthens Eaton Fiber’s relationship with Verizon, while Bain Capital’s long-term capital provides additional resources to accelerate deployment.

Ripple Fiber founder and chief executive Greg Wilson said the acquisition positions the company to accelerate its mission of connecting homes and businesses to fibre using its experience operating wholesale networks.

The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Eaton Fiber has secured committed debt financing from a syndicate led by Societe Generale and SMBC, alongside existing financing partner Future Standard Digital Infrastructure.

Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile US are actively beefing up their fibre holdings through joint ventures, wholesale agreements and outright purchases of fibre-rich companies to support the convergence of mobile and fibre-based broadband services.

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