Fears over tariff price rises prompted panic buying of iPhones

Prior to the earnings conference call, Tim Cook said that Apple saw users buying devices such as the iPhone outside of normal expectations because of concerns that tariffs would force prices to rise.Tim Cook and Donald Trump in a meeting at the White House in 2018During Apple's previous earnings call in May 2025, Tim Cook said that there had been some iPhone panic buying ahead of Trump's 'reciprocal' tariffs, but that it had not been significant. Now as the company announces its results for the first quarter when the tariffs were in place, the situation has changed.'On the buying ahead relative to worrying about prices and so forth on tariffs, we did see some evidence of that in the early part of the quarter,' Cook told CNBC. 'We would estimate it to be about one point of the 10 points of company growth.' Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums