Apple's Q4 revenue grows 12% to $114.5B, but memory costs will squeeze holiday-quarter margins
Apple (AAPL) reported 12% growth in fiscal fourth-quarter revenue to $114.5B on Monday, but warned that rising memory costs will cut its profit margin in the holiday quarter.
Revenue and earnings per share both beat estimates, and would have beaten even without the 5 cents per share Apple got from tariff refunds.
| Q4 FY25 | Q4 FY26 | Change | Estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $102.5B | $114.5B | +12% | $113.4B |
| iPhone | $49.0B | $57.6B | +17% | $56.5B |
| Mac | $8.7B | $10.8B | +24% | $9.6B |
| Services | $28.8B | $31.6B | +10% | $31.6B |
| Earnings per share | $1.85 | $2.10 | +14% | $1.99 |
iPhone revenue was a September-quarter record. It includes the iPhone 18 Pro but not the iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable phone, which went on sale on October 23.
Mac sales beat estimates by the most, which CFO Kevan Parekh credited to the MacBook Neo and MacBook Pro. iPad and wearables sales fell and missed estimates.
Sales in Greater China grew 21% to $17.5B. That fell short of the $18.6B analysts expected, Reuters reports, citing Visible Alpha data.
On its earnings call, Apple gave this forecast for the December quarter, which it expects to be its biggest ever for revenue:
- Revenue: up 7% to 10%, above the 6.1% analysts expected, Bloomberg reports.
- Gross margin: 45% to 46%, down from 47.9% and also below expectations.
- Services revenue: up 8% to 9%, below the 10.7% analysts expected, Reuters reports.
Memory chips account for most of the margin drop, Parekh said, and the rollout of Siri AI adds some cost.
CEO John Ternus, on his first earnings call since taking over in September, called memory pricing "unprecedented" and said it will keep rising after December.
Apple raised prices on iPads and Macs in June and on iPhones in September, which covered part of the cost.
Supply is also limiting sales. Apple cannot yet meet demand for the Duo and cannot say when it will, and it expects memory to limit Mac and iPad supply this quarter.
Ternus told Reuters that a very small share of Duos had been returned for display problems.
For the full fiscal year, revenue grew 15% to a record $478.8B, so growth was faster in the first nine months than in the fourth quarter.
Apple shares closed 1.8% lower on Monday, before the report. They fell another 2.8% in after-hours trading.
Sources & Further Reading
- "Apple reports fourth quarter results." Apple. November 2, 2026.
- "Apple forecasts margin drop in holiday quarter as rising memory costs bite." Reuters. November 2, 2026.
- "Apple (AAPL) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript." Stock Analysis. November 2, 2026.
- "Apple's Tightening Margins Overshadow Upbeat Holiday Forecast." Bloomberg. November 2, 2026.
This article was drafted with the help of AI. Kris Gunnars fact-checked, edited and published the article and is responsible for its accuracy and quality. How we use AI
