As Tim Cook steps down, Apple hit record sales — but a chip shortage looms

Apple achieved record quarterly sales of $111.2 billion under outgoing CEO Tim Cook, but faces a critical supply chain challenge as AI-driven demand for memory chips ('RAMageddon') is expected to significantly increase costs starting in June, potentially pressuring margins and forcing price increases on core products like the iPhone. Incoming CEO John Ternus will inherit this challenging environment where RAM costs have quadrupled, reducing supply chain flexibility and threatening profitability despite strong current demand. This supply-driven cost inflation represents a significant headwind for hardware-dependent businesses and signals broader IT infrastructure constraints as competition for semiconductor resources intensifies.