Compared with its big tech peers inflated by artificial-intelligence hype, Apple seemed to have the lowest bar to clear in the current earnings season. The world’s most valuable company still didn’t quite make it. 

At the very least, Apple’s fiscal fourth-quarter results late Thursday indicate that its newest iPhones aren’t off to a raging start. The company launched the iPhone 15 family during its usual window about a week before the quarter’s end in late September. iPhone revenue for the quarter rose 3% year over year to about $43.8 billion, in line with analysts’ forecasts. But that compares with a 10% gain in the previous year’s fourth quarter and a 47% surge in 2021, when the iPhone 13 family launched to surprisingly strong demand.