Apple Q4 2026 earnings: a record year, but memory costs and iPhone Duo supply soften the holiday outlook

More than 2.5 billion Apple devices are now in active use around the world, the company told investors. That is roughly one for every three people on Earth. On Monday, 2 November, the company behind them reported its best year ever, and its shares still slipped in after-hours trading.

The Apple Q4 2026 earnings report, for the three months to 26 September, showed revenue of US$114.5 billion, up 12% from US$102.5 billion a year earlier. It was John Ternus’s first results call since he took over from Tim Cook as chief executive in September. What worried investors was the next three months.

Apple Q4 2026 earnings: iPhone and Mac carry a US$114.5 billion quarter

Apple called it a September-quarter record for revenue, iPhone and earnings per share, and an all-time high for Services. Its own statements show the details:

• Profit: net income of US$30.7 billion, up from US$27.5 billion. Earnings per share were US$2.10, up 14%, including 5 cents from tariff refunds.
• Apple revenue by product: iPhone US$57.6 billion (up 17%), Services US$31.6 billion (up 10%), Mac US$10.8 billion (up 24%), wearables, home and accessories US$8.3 billion (down 8%) and iPad US$6.2 billion (down 10%).
• Regions: Greater China grew 21% to US$17.5 billion. Japan slipped about 1%.
• The full year: Apple revenue in 2026 reached US$478.8 billion, up 15%, with net income of US$132.2 billion.

Ternus, Apple’s CEO, said the results were “capping off our best fiscal year ever”. In Apple’s release, he called the iPhone Duo, its first foldable, “the most transformational iPhone since the original”. On the call, chief financial officer Kevan Parekh said the number of active devices is at an all-time high in every major category and region.

Against forecasts compiled by SiliconANGLE, Apple beat on revenue (about US$113.4 billion expected), earnings per share and iPhone. iPad fell short.

Why a record quarter still left investors wanting more

The answer is the holiday guide. On the call, as MacRumors reported, Parekh said revenue should grow 7% to 10% in the October to December quarter. He said that should be “the best quarter for revenue in the history of the company”. But SiliconANGLE says analysts had expected about 11%.

Two other things weighed on the outlook. First, Apple expects a gross margin, the share of each sale left after making the product, of 45% to 46%, down from 47.9% this quarter (about one point of which came from tariff refunds). Parekh said memory chips will cost more, partly offset by price rises, stock already built and cheaper other parts.

Second, supply. The iPhone Duo is constrained, and Ternus said it is hard to predict when supply and demand will balance. Apple also expects Mac and iPad shortages this quarter, mainly because of memory.

This quarter also missed the newest phones. The iPhone Duo went on sale on 23 October, after the quarter ended, and the iPhone 18 Pro had only about eight days of sales in it, according to SiliconANGLE.

Reports differ on the size of the after-hours fall, so we give no single figure.

Shopping for a Mac, iPad or iPhone Duo this holiday? Plan ahead

If you plan to buy an Apple device this season, Apple’s own warning is the useful part. Expect some Macs and iPads to be hard to find, and expect the iPhone Duo to keep its long waits. If you have your eye on the new M6 MacBook Pro or iMac, ordering early is the safer plan.

On price, the memory squeeze is the reason to watch. SiliconANGLE notes Apple raised most iPhone prices by about US$100 in June, citing memory and other part costs. Our reading is that if memory stays expensive, discounts this season may be smaller than usual, but that is analysis, not a forecast.

On balance, strong demand meets a memory squeeze

There is a lot to like here. Apple grew double digits at a size few companies reach, Mac sales rose by almost a quarter, and Greater China grew 21%. A new chief executive inherits a business people still want.

The concerns are real too. Margins are set to dip, iPad and wearables are shrinking, and Services grew at its slowest pace since September 2022, by SiliconANGLE’s count. Ternus also declined to say how Apple plans to earn money from AI, saying only that there are “lots of opportunities”.

On balance, this looks like a company limited by parts more than by demand. That is a better problem to have, but it is not one Apple can fully control.

The next test is Apple’s report on the holiday quarter, early next year. Watch whether the iPhone Duo waits shorten, and whether Apple Intelligence’s December launch in China keeps that 21% growth going.