Apple on Thursday disclosed its iPhone sales dipped slightly during the holiday-season quarter, signaling a sluggish start to the trendsetting company’s effort to catch up to the rest of Big Tech in the race to bring artificial intelligence to the masses.

Apple beat Wall Street's quarterly profit estimates on Thursday, but iPhone sales and China revenue for the holiday quarter were weak due to stiff Chinese competition and a slow rollout of artificial intelligence features.

Visa's first-quarter profit beat Wall Street estimates on Thursday, as easing concerns about an economic slowdown and discounts encouraged customers to splurge during the holiday shopping season. Retailers offered deep discounts on everything from apparel to toys and luxury products to lure cost-conscious consumers while online sales remained strong thanks to a boom in mobile shopping.

The card brand also touted its payments partnership with the social media platform X as evidence of strength in its partnership strategy.