Bloomberg Businessweek – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Apple Tops Sales Estimates Despite China Dip, Amazon Reports Cloud Unit Growth
Air Date: October 30, 2025
Hosts: Carol Massar & Tim Stenovec
Notable Guests: Putnam Goyal (Bloomberg Intelligence), Ed Ludlow (Bloomberg/BTech), Eric Clark (Acuvas Global Advisors), Jay Goldberg (Seaport Research Partners), Mark Gurman (Bloomberg News), Jessica Nix (Bloomberg Health), Caroline Freund (UC San Diego)

Overview

This episode dives deep into third quarter earnings from Amazon and Apple, exploring how both tech giants outperformed Wall Street expectations in key areas, and where headwinds—especially those from China—remain. The conversation expands to cover a dramatic biotech acquisition battle, and closes with analysis of the latest US-China trade truce following a Trump-Xi summit. Throughout, the panel examines market sentiment, company strategies, and what might come next for these major economic players.

Amazon Earnings: Cloud Growth, Margins, and Market Strategy

Segment Start: [01:56]

Key Points & Insights

• Strong Q3 Results:

  • Net sales reached $180.17B, up 13% YoY, topping analyst estimates.
  • AWS (Amazon Web Services) saw net sales up 20% YoY, the strongest in nearly three years, far surpassing analyst projections.

• Cloud as Profit Engine:

  • AWS remains the “majority of operating income,” fueling Amazon’s overall profitability.
  • Amazon is pitching their in-house AI chip (Trainium 2), calling it a “multibillion dollar run rate business” ([05:31] Ed Ludlow).

• Investor Reaction:

  • Shares surged up to 10% in after-hours trading due to the strong report and economic outlook.

Notable Quotes

• Putnam Goyal ([02:53]):
  “It definitely is. I mean, they hit it out of the park. Sales were very good across the board, across all business segments...20% [cloud] gains, we haven't seen that in a while.”

• Ed Ludlow ([04:28]):
  “This return to growth year on year of above 20% for the first time since 2022, it’s absolutely timely…this is a bit of a barnstormer from Amazon to say actually, on every metric...it's doing really well.”

• Putnam Goyal ([03:39]):
  "They want to drive market share gains…Amazon has stepped up its game on shipping…continuing to invest to get items to you faster, same day, etc.”

Margin Pressure & Retail Business

• North America margins weaker than expected, attributed to low-price strategy to retain customers and investment in fulfillment.
• Advertising:
  • “It grew 22% in constant currency in the quarter…75-80% profit margins...we see it going to $100 billion.” ([07:34] Putnam Goyal).

Layoffs & Automation

• Recent layoffs (over 14,000 roles) are “more about bloat and middle management” vs. just AI efficiency ([10:06] Ed Ludlow).
• Ongoing investment in robotics and automation aimed at boosting retail profitability.

Market and Forward-Looking Views

• Discussion about the upcoming holiday season and potential for continued retail growth.
• Panel largely optimistic, given Amazon's scale and resilience, despite macroeconomic and regulatory challenges.

Apple Earnings: Record Revenues Despite China Weakness

Segment Start: [22:57]

Key Points & Insights

• Headline Results:
  • Revenue topped $100B for the first time in a September quarter.
  • China revenue disappointed, 12% below consensus.
  • Services delivered a strong beat; iPhone sales nearly matched estimates.

Notable Quotes

• Jay Goldberg ([23:59]):
  “It looks okay. It’s not perfect…services is much stronger than I expected. iPhone was good. iPad was surprisingly good...Gross margins were better than expected.”

• Mark Gurman ([27:59]):
  “iPhone obviously grew tremendously, 6% year over year. They beat in nearly every product category except the iPad…the big one though is a big decline and miss in greater China...some of that can be attributed to the iPhone Air delay.”

• Ed Ludlow ([32:50]):
  “Orders for the iPhone 17 started on September 12...Reported a quarter that ended on September 27. So they had eight days of data for the iPhone 17 generation…The CFO has guided very clearly on the trajectory of the iPhone 17 and its sales into the December quarter.”

China Drag Explained

• iPhone 17 Air not launched in China (production delay, regulatory issues), which likely pushed some consumer demand to the coming quarter.
• Ongoing vulnerability in China; need for localized products and a clearer AI strategy for the Chinese market.

Investor Focus: The Holiday Quarter

• Apple CFO Kevin Parik previews 10-12% YoY revenue growth in the crucial holiday quarter, boosting investor sentiment and sending shares up nearly 4%.
• Analysts see continued demand for premium iPhones (Pro, Pro Max) beneficial for margins.

Pricing & Product Segmentation

• Quiet but effective price increase: “They've effectively raised prices $100 this cycle” ([39:40] Jay Goldberg).
• Analysts are more focused on supply chain issues, segmentation, and upcoming products (anticipation of foldables).

Innovation & Capex

• Ongoing calls for Apple to increase capital expenditures and invest more aggressively in innovation (compared to peers like Amazon, Google, Microsoft).

Pharma Watch: M&A Drama and the Obesity Drug Race

Segment Start: [43:36]

Key Points & Insights

• Novo Nordisk v. Pfizer for Metcera:

  • Novo Nordisk makes an unsolicited bid for Metcera, disrupting Pfizer’s earlier effort to buy the biotech for access to next-gen weight loss drugs.

• Why The Scramble?

  • Weight loss/GLP-1 drug market is projected to reach $100B by 2030.
  • Pfizer badly wants a foothold; their own offering failed, making Metcera critical.
  • Metcera’s candidate targets amylin, promising fewer side effects and possibly a competitive edge.

• Lilly vs. Novo:

  • Eli Lilly is “storming through” the weight loss drug market, increasingly outpacing Novo Nordisk despite Novo’s head start.

Notable Quotes

• Jessica Nix ([44:30]):
  “It's a market that's expected to grow by $100 billion by 2030. It's huge. It's the thing right now is these weight loss drugs and so Pfizer is trying to get in and now Novo sweeping out under, under from them.”

• On Pills vs. Injectables ([47:41]):
  “The real golden goose here is the pill. Eli Lilly...has been working on its pill...they’re saying, you know, by the end of the year, they're going to go to the FDA for approval.”

• Investment Community’s Take:

  • Pfizer’s need is more urgent, but the bidding war is heating up; Metcera shares soared more than 20% on the news.

US-China Trade Truce: Stabilization, Not a Reset

Segment Start: [52:15]

Key Points & Insights

• Trump-Xi Summit:

  • US and China agreed to a one-year trade truce at the APEC summit:
    • US cuts fentanyl tariffs, China resumes soybean sales and rare earth exports.

• Analysis:

  • “We have the world’s top producer and the world’s top consumer meeting and they both have market power...needed each other...It was a game of chicken.” ([53:33] Caroline Freund)

  • “We’re close to pre-Liberation Day tariffs...but there are still tweaks: some fentanyl tariffs remain, and US firms face licensing regimes on magnets.” ([53:33] Caroline Freund)

• Unresolved Tensions:

  • Key issues (Taiwan, tech bans, AI chips, oil from Russia) left ambiguous; focus is on calming escalation, not long-term resolution.

• Market & Political Implications

  • Both sides recognized the mutual pain of further escalation; “market discipline” enforces the truce.
  • The need to diversify rare earth sources and secure supply chains highlighted; allies like Australia and possibly Latin America mentioned as partners.

Notable Quotes

• Carol Massar ([54:16]):
  “What is more significant, what they did talk about or what they didn't talk about?”

• Caroline Freund ([55:42]):
  “Yes, I think Trump has tried the kind of bullying technique, and it’s worked with everyone else... China said, no, we're not going to be bullied... Now there's kind of a truce... It'll hurt the US too much to do a lot more on China; it'll hurt China too much to do a lot more on the US.”

Noteworthy Segment Timestamps

• Amazon blows out Q3 expectations: [01:56]–[11:34]
• Discussion on layoffs, AI, and retail margins: [11:34]–[18:49]
• Advertising and profitability: [07:34], [14:30], [17:31]
• Apple Q4 results: China dips, new optimism: [22:57]–[41:16]
• Jay Goldberg on iPhone pricing segmentation: [39:20]–[39:51]
• Biotech bidding war (Metcera): [43:36]–[51:53]
• US-China trade truce analysis: [52:15]–[59:43]

Memorable Quotes

• On Amazon’s cloud strength:
  “20% gains, we haven’t seen that in a while. On the margin side I think really well.” — Putnam Goyal [02:53]

• On Apple’s resilience:
  “They beat in nearly every product category...the big one though is a big decline in greater China.” — Mark Gurman [27:59]

• On future innovation:
  “Why is it that Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft have capital expenditures nearer to $100 billion per annum and Apple has $10 [billion]? When is Apple going to take some risk?” — Ed Ludlow [39:58]

• On the trade truce:
  “Both realized how much they need each other…the countries have settled the deals in the areas that really matter…but we’re going to see ambiguity on those much more complex issues.” — Caroline Freund [54:33]

Summary

This episode offers a thorough breakdown of major corporate earnings and market-moving news. Key takeaways:

• Amazon impresses with robust cloud growth and advertising momentum, while also aggressively pursuing efficiencies and automation.
• Apple delivers record Q4 revenue with a bullish holiday outlook; Chinese sales drop due to timing and regulatory issues, but optimism prevails thanks to services and new devices.
• The pharma sector is roiled by rival takeover bids as Big Pharma races for the next blockbuster obesity drug.
• A US-China “truce” offers temporary market reassurance, but leaves many bigger questions—from tech to geopolitics—unanswered.

The discussions capture the cautious optimism and persistent uncertainty that define today’s economic environment, with guest experts providing both market context and inside perspective.

For those who missed the episode, this summary distills all the need-to-know moments and insights from an eventful day in business and tech.