Tech & AI
Apple posts record $114.5bn September quarter but warns memory costs will squeeze margins
The iPhone maker beat forecasts under new CEO John Ternus, yet guided gross margin down to 45%-46% as memory chip prices surge.
HedgeWeekly Tech & AI Desk ·
Apple reported revenue of $114.5bn for its September quarter, up 12% from a year earlier and a record for that period, in the first results since John Ternus succeeded Tim Cook as chief executive on 1 September. Net income was $30.7bn and diluted earnings per share were $2.10, compared with $1.85 a year ago.
iPhone sales rose 17% to $57.6bn, Mac revenue climbed 24% to $10.8bn and Services, which covers the App Store, subscriptions and payments, reached an all-time high of $31.6bn, up 10%. Sales in Greater China grew 21%. iPad fell 10% and the wearables and home category slipped 8%. Gross margin was 47.9%, helped by a tariff-refund benefit of roughly one percentage point. Analysts had expected about $113.4bn of revenue and $1.99 a share, according to AskTraders.
For the December quarter Apple guided revenue growth of 7% to 10%, which it said would be its best quarter ever, but pencilled in a gross margin of 45% to 46%. The company described memory pricing as unprecedented and said costs will rise further, with supply limits on Mac and iPad expected to persist. The shares closed 1.8% lower at $338.32 before results and slipped a further 0.7% after the bell.
Why it matters: the print shows demand holding up even after Apple raised prices on the iPhone in September and on Mac and iPad in June, but it also shows how the AI-driven shortage of memory chips is travelling down the supply chain to consumer-device makers. Investors will watch whether further price rises dent demand, whether margin guidance proves conservative once tariff refunds fade, and what the squeeze means for memory suppliers whose pricing power is Apple's cost headwind.