Apple Inc. delivered a top- and bottom-line double beat for its fiscal fourth quarter of 2026, powered by resilient iPhone demand and strong international growth. Revenue jumped 12% year-over-year to $114.48 billion, surpassing Wall Street consensus estimates of $113.4 billion. Net profit expanded 12% year-over-year to $30.71 billion, yielding diluted earnings per share of $2.10—exceeding market forecasts of $1.99.
Key Financial Highlights
- Total Net Sales: $114.48 billion (+12% YoY; vs. $113.4B estimate)
- Diluted EPS: $2.10 EPS (vs. $1.99 estimate)
- Gross Margin: 47.9% (vs. 47.5% estimate)
- iPhone Revenue: $57.58 billion (+17% YoY; vs. $56.48B estimate)
- Services Revenue: $31.57 billion (+10% YoY; vs. $31.58B estimate)
Hardware momentum was anchored by the iPhone segment, which generated $57.58 billion (up 17% YoY), beating expectations. Mac sales rallied 24% to $10.79 billion, while Services grew 10% to $31.57 billion, supported by an expanding active device installed base. Conversely, iPad revenue fell 10% to $6.23 billion and Wearables dropped 8% to $8.30 billion. Segment profitability highlighted a sharp divergence: Services achieved a 76% gross margin, while Products delivered 37.2%. Regionally, Greater China rebounded 21% YoY to $17.54 billion.
Operational strength was slightly augmented by tariff refunds, which provided a 1 percentage point boost to gross margin and added $0.05 to EPS. Excluding this benefit, core product margins contracted roughly 1 percentage point sequentially due to accelerating memory component cost inflation. Operating income rose 10% YoY to $35.63 billion, though operating margin compressed by 1 percentage point to 31%.
Apple maintained robust liquidity, closing the quarter with $36.31 billion in cash and cash equivalents and generating $145.10 billion in full-year operating cash flow. Total term debt stood at $78.11 billion. Reflecting ongoing balance sheet strength, Apple returned $28 billion to shareholders in Q4 and declared a $0.27 per share dividend.
Management projected strong momentum for the upcoming December quarter, guiding revenue growth of 7% to 10% YoY, outstripping consensus expectations of 6.1%. However, persistent memory cost pressures are expected to weigh on profitability, dragging guided gross margin down to 45%–46%, below Wall Street’s 46.3% estimate.
