Apple CEO Tim Cook is extremely optimistic about the company's growth prospects in India, driven by the country's large smartphone market and rising middle class.
Key Points
- Tim Cook sees India as a 'huge opportunity' for Apple, citing its status as the second-largest smartphone market.
- Apple is experiencing double-digit growth in India across multiple product lines, including iPhones and Macs.
- Cook highlights the rising middle class in India as a key factor driving Apple's growth potential.
- Apple is expanding its retail presence in India, with plans to open more stores to connect with customers.
- Apple's financial results show strong performance in emerging markets like India, contributing to overall revenue growth.
Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has said he is "over the moon excited" about India, characterising the country's market as a "huge opportunity" for the tech giant.
"Yes. I think it's a huge opportunity for us. We've been focused on this for a while. It's the second largest smartphone market in the world and the third largest PC market," Cook said at Apple's second quarter 2026 earnings call on Thursday.
Apple's Strategic Focus on the Indian Market
Cook's remarks came to a question about his outlook on the Indian market and the overall opportunity it offers.
He also acknowledged that the tech giant still has a "modest share" in India despite doing "extremely well" in the country for quite some time.
Tim also discussed India's rising middle class, the potential it has and said since most customers across all our product lines are new to the brand, it's a perfect environment for us to grow.
" Net-net, I'm over the moon excited about India," he added.
Financial Growth and Retail Expansion in India
Apple saw its quarterly revenue climb 17 per cent to USD 111.2 billion. Cook noted that the company hit new March quarter records across both developed and emerging markets, with India being a standout among the regions seeing double-digit growth.
Cook said Apple was also "thrilled" to launch its sixth store in India, opening a new location in Borivali in February, the second store in Mumbai. Apple has stores in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune and Noida.
"It has been wonderful to see how we've continued to grow in India in recent years, part of our larger efforts to connect with even more customers in emerging markets all over the world," Cook said.
iPhone and Mac Performance in Emerging Markets
Cook also said that for the iPhones, "we're seeing double-digit growth in the majority of the markets we track from the US to Latin America to Greater China to Western Europe, to India to Japan to Southeast Asia."
Apple's Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh said Mac revenue was USD 8.4 billion, up 6 per cent year-over-year, driven by the strength of the recent product launches, including MacBook Neo.
Apple's Mac sales increased in both developed and emerging markets, highlighted by double-digit growth in India and Indonesia. Similarly, iPad revenue saw double-digit expansion, particularly in India, Mexico, and Thailand.
Leadership Transition at Apple
Last month, Apple announced that Cook will step down as CEO and become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors.
Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering John Ternus will become the next CEO of the tech giant on September 1, 2026, replacing Cook.
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