Apple Q4 2026: record $114.5B revenue, but memory costs cut December margin guide to 45-46%
Apple's inventory hit $14.54 billion and executives expect memory costs to keep rising past December, while iPhone Duo supply stays tight.
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Apple reported a record September quarter on 2 November 2026, with revenue of $114.5 billion, but the number developers and gadget buyers should look at is not revenue. It is the chip bill. Apple's inventory jumped to $14.54 billion, its gross margin is guided down by about two points for the December quarter, and its executives said memory costs will keep climbing past December. The company also did not rule out more device price increases.
Key points
- Apple's fiscal Q4 2026 revenue was $114.5 billion, up 12% year over year, with a gross margin of 47.9% that included roughly one percentage point from tariff refunds (Apple press release).
- iPhone revenue was $57.58 billion and Services reached an all-time high of $31.57 billion; full-year fiscal 2026 revenue was a record $479 billion (Apple, 9to5Mac).
- TechCrunch reports that Apple guided the December-quarter gross margin to 45% to 46%, mainly because of higher memory costs, and that CEO John Ternus called current memory pricing "unprecedented".
- Inventory rose to $14.54 billion from $11.09 billion in the previous quarter and $5.72 billion a year earlier (TechCrunch).
- Apple raised prices on Mac and iPad at the end of June and on iPhone in September; COO Sabih Khan did not rule out more increases (TechCrunch).
What happened
Apple's own release gives the headline figures for the quarter ended 26 September 2026. Revenue was $114.5 billion, up 12%. Gross margin was 47.9%, and Apple says about one point of that came from tariff refunds. Diluted earnings per share were $2.10, up 14%, including a $0.05 benefit from the same refunds. Chief financial officer Kevan Parekh said the company generated $28 billion of operating cash flow and returned $28 billion to shareholders. The board declared a dividend of $0.27 per share, payable on 16 November to holders of record on 12 November.
The Wrap, citing Yahoo Finance estimates, reports that revenue beat the $113.35 billion analysts expected and earnings per share beat $1.99. It puts net income at $30.71 billion against $27.47 billion a year earlier. It also reports that shares fell 3.2% in after-hours trading.
By product, as published by 9to5Mac, iPhone brought in $57.58 billion, Services $31.57 billion, Mac $10.79 billion, Wearables, Home and Accessories $8.30 billion and iPad $6.23 billion. TheWrap gives the year-earlier comparisons for the two largest lines: iPhone was $49.03 billion a year ago, and Services $28.75 billion. TechCrunch says iPad missed analysts' $6.7 billion expectation and fell 10% from a year earlier, while iPhone and Mac beat estimates. Apple blamed supply constraints for the weak iPad.
Background
TechCrunch ties rising memory chip costs to demand from the AI industry, which is pushing up component costs across hardware makers. Apple has softened the effect with memory it bought earlier and with price increases, but both cushions are limited, and on this call the company said so directly.
According to TechCrunch's account of the call, Ternus said the benefit from carry-in memory inventory will shrink over time, that Apple expects "even higher memory costs" in the December quarter, partly offset by the earlier price increases, and that costs should keep increasing beyond December. Apple is also buying more memory to secure supply. TechCrunch reports that manufacturing purchase obligations rose by $33 billion between the June and September quarters.
The price increases it refers to came in two steps: Mac and iPad at the end of June, iPhone in September. Khan told analysts that Apple made those decisions reluctantly and, in TechCrunch's reading, did not rule out future increases.
The numbers
The clearest evidence is the balance sheet. Apple's inventory grew from $5.72 billion in the September quarter of 2025 to $11.09 billion in the June quarter and $14.54 billion in September, which TechCrunch puts at 31.1% above the previous quarter and 154.3% above a year earlier. Inventory rising this fast can mean two things: parts bought ahead of the holiday launches, or products waiting for components. The sources we read do not say which, and do not break the figure down.
| US$ billion | |
|---|---|
| Q4 FY25 | 5.72 |
| Q3 FY26 | 11.09 |
| Q4 FY26 | 14.54 |
Source: TechCrunch, citing Apple's fiscal Q4 2026 results
Gross margin is the second number. September's 47.9% included about one point of tariff refunds, so the underlying figure was nearer 47%. TechCrunch reports the guide for the December quarter is 45% to 46%, mainly because of memory costs. Compared with September's reported 47.9%, that is a drop of roughly two to three points; compared with the underlying figure, about one to two. We calculate that range ourselves from the reported figures; Apple did not frame it that way in the sources we could open.
What it means
For buyers. The announced guidance does not itself set a price, but the combination of a margin warning, rising memory costs and two rounds of increases points one way. If you plan to buy a Mac, iPad or iPhone, assume that further rises are possible, not that the current prices are fixed. Khan stopped short of promising otherwise.
For developers. Apple said nothing in the sources we read about changing memory configurations, so we do not predict any. If you ship software for Apple hardware, the practical point is that device prices, and so upgrade timing among your users, may shift.
For the industry. If a company with Apple's purchasing power reports "unprecedented" memory pricing, smaller device makers are unlikely to be better off. The same demand from AI infrastructure that lifts chip makers raises costs for everyone who builds products from their parts.
iPhone Duo supply. The new iPhone Duo is supply-constrained. TechCrunch quotes Khan saying "it's really hard to predict when supply and demand will be in balance". It adds that buyers who did not preorder or queue face delivery dates stretching into next year, and that Apple said it is deepening its partnership with a titanium supplier. This is a separate issue from memory costs, but both show where the supply chain is the limit on sales rather than demand.
What we don't know yet
- How much of the $14.54 billion in inventory is memory and other parts bought in advance, as opposed to finished devices.
- Which products will see price changes, by how much and when; Apple has announced nothing beyond the June and September increases.
- How long memory prices stay high. Ternus expects them to rise beyond December, but Apple gave no end date.
- The exact wording of the December-quarter guidance. We rely on TechCrunch's account of the call and could not open Apple's own transcript.
- Whether Apple's iPad supply constraints ease before the holiday season.
What to watch next
Apple's annual filing, which TechCrunch says is due on 3 November, should add detail on purchase commitments and risk factors. After that, watch for the December-quarter results in late January, for any new price changes on Apple's online store, and for memory price reports from chip makers. We cover that supply chain too: our look at Nvidia's revised Vera Rubin memory specification shows how tightly AI hardware and memory supply are linked.
Sources
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