Apple Posts Record September-Quarter Revenue of $114.5 Billion, but Its Margin Forecast Sends Shares Lower

Apple reported record revenue for its September quarter on Monday, November 2, 2026, led by iPhone and Mac sales, but its forecast for lower profit margins in the holiday quarter weighed on the shares. The stock traded at about $325.41 at 7:12 a.m. ET on Tuesday, according to Yahoo Finance data, down roughly 3.8% from Monday's close of $338.32.

The report was the first under Chief Executive John Ternus, who took over the role on September 1, according to CNBC.

Quarter results

For the fiscal fourth quarter ended September 26, Apple said revenue rose 12% from a year earlier to $114.5 billion. Diluted earnings per share rose 14% to $2.10, including a favorable impact of 5 cents from tariff refunds. Gross margin was 47.9%, which the company said included a benefit of about 1 percentage point from those refunds. Net income was $30.7 billion.

Sales by category, according to the company's financial statements filed with the SEC, compared with the same quarter a year earlier:

• iPhone: $57.58 billion, up 17%
• Services: $31.57 billion, up 10%, an all-time high
• Mac: $10.79 billion, up 24%
• Wearables, Home and Accessories: $8.30 billion, down 8%
• iPad: $6.23 billion, down 10%

Revenue in Greater China rose 21% to $17.54 billion. For the full fiscal year, Apple's revenue rose 15% to $478.8 billion and net income reached $132.2 billion.

"Today, Apple is proud to report a September quarter revenue record of $114.5 billion, up 12 percent from a year ago, with iPhone reaching a September quarter record and Services reaching an all-time high, capping off our best fiscal year ever," Ternus said in the release.

The guidance

On the earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh said Apple expects December-quarter revenue to grow 7% to 10% from a year earlier, which he said reflects "our best view of constrained supply," according to a transcript of the call. Analysts polled by LSEG had expected growth of 6.1%, CNBC reported.

Apple forecast gross margin of 45% to 46%, below the 46.3% average analyst estimate cited by CNBC. Parekh said the forecast mainly reflects higher memory costs, as well as some costs related to the rollout of Siri AI. The company expects services revenue to grow 8% to 9%, with headwinds from third-party licensing and foreign exchange, and operating expenses of $20.4 billion to $20.8 billion.

Memory costs and supply

CNBC reported that Apple, like other device makers, is dealing with a global shortage of memory chips and other components. The company raised prices across its product line in June, including a $100 increase on iPhones, and the September quarter was the first full quarter at the higher prices, CNBC said. Ternus told CNBC that Apple "reluctantly" raised prices to help offset component costs.

The quarter included only eight days of sales of the iPhone 18 Pro models, and the folding iPhone Duo did not go on sale until October 23, after the period ended, according to CNBC. iPad sales were below analyst estimates, and Ternus attributed the decline to supply constraints and a difficult comparison with last year.

Spending and shareholder returns

Research and development spending rose to $11.73 billion from $8.87 billion a year earlier, and total operating expenses rose 21% to $19.2 billion, according to the company's statements and call remarks. Capital expenditures were $2.24 billion, below the $3.33 billion LSEG estimate, CNBC reported.

Apple ended the quarter with $137 billion in cash and marketable securities and $80 billion in total debt. It returned $28 billion to shareholders during the quarter, including $24 billion in share buybacks and $3.9 billion in dividends and equivalents. The company said its active installed base exceeded 2.5 billion devices.

Apple shares had fallen about 1.8% during Monday's regular session, from a Friday close of $344.63. CNBC reported that Apple and Nvidia were each valued at about $4.91 trillion on Monday. Premarket prices can change before the regular session opens at 9:30 a.m. ET.