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The poor results stood in contrast to the strong performances of other big tech companies. Over the past two weeks, Amazon reported that its quarterly profits had tripled, Microsoft increased quarterly sales from cloud computing by a third and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, announced that it would pay its first dividend.
Those companies’ sales have accelerated in part because of their investments in generative artificial intelligence. The technology, which can write essays and software code, is one that Apple hasn’t yet incorporated into its products. Investors hope that will change in June when Apple holds its annual developers’ conference and reveals its newest software.
“This is a bellwether stock that is going through a volatile time,” said Scott Acheychek, the chief operating officer at REX Shares, a provider of exchanged-traded funds. “Apple needs a win to change this narrative, and if they can get a segment of A.I. across their devices, that could be it. The question is: What is their path forward?”
During a call with analysts, Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, sought to reassure investors that Apple believed in the promise of generative A.I. He said the company was making significant investments in the technology and would share news about its developments with customers soon.
“We have advantages that will differentiate us in this new era, including Apple’s unique combination of seamless hardware, software and services,” Mr. Cook said. He said the company would lean on its custom chips and seek to provide a solution that protected customers’ privacy.
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