Apple earnings mark the end of the Tim Cook era, as the stock surges to lead the Mag 7 in 2026

AI and the memory crunch are in focus ahead of Apple earnings and Tim Cook's last call as CEO

Tim Cook's final earnings call Thursday focuses on iPhone 18 pricing, memory costs, and AI strategy gaps as John Ternus takes over September 1. Rising memory pressures margins; Services growth (iCloud+, AppleCare+) should compensate, but Apple needs a killer AI use case after avoiding competitors' capex spending boom.