Apple Q4 2026 Financials--$114.5 Billion Revenue, Up 12 Percent and Above Apple's Own Range, Mac Revenue $10.8 Billion, Up 24 Percent, a Record $478.8 Billion Year, and a 7 to 10 Percent December Forecast With Macs Short on Memory

2026November 3, 2026Macs Only!Apple business
A smiling man with short dark hair, in a dark gray button-up shirt and blue jeans, sits on the edge of a light wooden table against a plain gray backdrop, hands clasped on his knee and a beaded bracelet on his right wrist; Apple captions the picture "John Ternus."
Photo: Apple · A smiling man with short dark hair, in a dark gray button-up shirt and blue jeans, sits on the edge of a light wooden table against a plain gray backdrop, hands clasped on his knee and a beaded bracelet on his right wrist; Apple captions the picture "John Ternus."

Apple reported its fiscal fourth quarter on November 2: revenue of $114.5 billion, up 12 percent from a year ago, diluted earnings of $2.10 a share, up 14 percent, and a gross margin of 47.9 percent, according to Apple's press release. It is the first report under John Ternus, chief executive since September 1 per Apple's April announcement, and it beat the top of the 9 to 11 percent range Apple gave in July, $111.7 billion to $113.7 billion by our October 11 preview. The Mac grew fastest, to $10.8 billion, up 24 percent, and the call's warning is that Macs stay short through December for want of memory.

iPhone, Mac and Services set the records

The statements filed with the SEC put total net sales at $114,477 million against $102,466 million a year earlier, and net income at $30,711 million. By product: iPhone $57,583 million, up 17 percent and a September-quarter record; Mac $10,792 million against $8,726 million, up 24 percent; iPad $6,229 million, down 10 percent; Wearables, Home and Accessories $8,300 million, down 8 percent; and Services $31,573 million, up 10 percent, an all-time record. The percentages are the ones Kevan Parekh gave on the call. Greater China was $17,539 million, up 21 percent, which Ternus called "a quarterly record."

The fiscal year that ended September 26 came to $478,834 million against $416,161 million, and $8.98 a share. Mac revenue for the year was $37,929 million against $33,708 million, up 13 percent by our arithmetic. "We have never sold more Macs in a fiscal year than we did this time, which is a truly remarkable testament to these incredible products," Ternus said on the call, per Six Colors' transcript.

Wall Street expected less, and the stock fell anyway

CNBC's coverage of the call has the LSEG consensus at $113.39 billion of revenue and $1.99 a share, with the Mac expected at $9.61 billion, so the Mac beat its estimate by more than a billion dollars. The shares fell 3 percent in extended trading. Apple's release says tariff refunds added about one percentage point to the margin and $0.05 to earnings per share, and MacRumors' report puts the year-ago margin at 47.2 percent. Apple's board declared a dividend of $0.27 a share, payable November 16 to holders of record on November 12.

December: 7 to 10 percent growth, a thinner margin, and Macs short on memory

Parekh guided the December quarter to revenue growth "between 7% and 10% year-over-year," which he said Apple expects "to be the best quarter for revenue in the history of the company," with Services up 8 to 9 percent and a gross margin of 45 to 46 percent. On the $143,756 million of the December 2025 quarter in the January statements, that is $153.8 billion to $158.1 billion by our arithmetic. CNBC puts the consensus at 6.1 percent growth and a 46.3 percent margin.

Apple's reason is memory. "What we're seeing with memory pricing right now is unprecedented," Ternus said, and beyond December Apple sees "the pricing for memory purchases continuing to increase." Chief operating officer Sabih Khan said the September quarter's shortages came from the advanced chip nodes, which are easing as the lineup moves to 2-nanometer chips, and then: "For the December quarter, we expect constraints on Mac and iPad, and it's primarily driven by memory, and that's because the demand has been higher than what we expected." MacRumors' takeaways add that the iPhone Duo remains short with no date for supply to catch up.

What it means if you are buying a Mac

Our October 18 report had IDC counting Mac shipments down 11 percent in nearly the same three months that Apple's Mac revenue rose 24 percent. Apple publishes no unit count, but if IDC is near right, the average Mac sold for a good deal more; the June and September price increases, which MacRumors' takeaways say offset part of the memory cost, and a richer mix of machines are the likely reasons. Khan's December warning covers the M6 and PROLED MacBook Pros too: a particular configuration may take longer to get.

Then and now

On October 12, 2005, we reported Apple's best-ever quarter and fiscal year: $0.50 a share against the $0.37 analysts guessed, revenue of $13.9 billion for the year, 1,236,000 Macs in the quarter, and Tim Cook describing an iPod nano backlog on a part Apple would not name. That item began "As we expected." Fiscal 2026's $478.8 billion is about 34 times fiscal 2005's revenue by our arithmetic, and the part now has a name: memory. Our October preview expected Apple to beat its own range, and it did; a Mac that is the fastest-growing product Apple sells and still short of supply is the better problem to have.

Sources

  1. Apple Newsroom, “Apple reports fourth quarter results - Apple” accessed Nov 3, 2026Press release of November 2, 2026 for the fiscal 2026 fourth quarter ended September 26, 2026: revenue of $114.5 billion, up 12 percent year over year; diluted earnings per share of $2.10, up 14 percent, including about $0.05 from tariff refunds; gross margin of 47.9 percent including about one percentage point from tariff refunds; September quarter records for total company revenue, iPhone revenue and EPS, and an all-time high for Services revenue; John Ternus's quote "capping off our best fiscal year ever"; the $0.27 dividend payable November 16, 2026 to shareholders of record November 12, 2026; the call at 2:00 p.m. PT on November 2, 2026; the page carries no photograph; accessed November 3, 2026.
  2. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, “Apple Inc. Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1, November 2, 2026: condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarter ended September 26, 2026” accessed Nov 3, 2026Three months ended September 26, 2026 against September 27, 2025: total net sales $114,477 million against $102,466 million; net income $30,711 million; diluted EPS $2.10 against $1.85; iPhone $57,583 million against $49,025 million; Mac $10,792 million against $8,726 million; iPad $6,229 million against $6,952 million; Wearables, Home and Accessories $8,300 million against $9,013 million; Services $31,573 million against $28,750 million; Greater China $17,539 million against $14,493 million. Twelve months: total net sales $478,834 million against $416,161 million; diluted EPS $8.98; Mac $37,929 million against $33,708 million. The base for every percentage the item calls ours; accessed November 3, 2026.
  3. Six Colors, “Hello, everyone, it's John: Apple's Q4 2026 earnings call transcript - Six Colors” accessed Nov 3, 2026Jason Snell's transcript of the November 2, 2026 call, with John Ternus (CEO), Kevan Parekh (CFO) and Sabih Khan (COO) speaking: Ternus's "We have never sold more Macs in a fiscal year than we did this time, which is a truly remarkable testament to these incredible products"; Greater China revenue "up 21% during the September quarter, which was a quarterly record"; Parekh's "Mac revenue was $10.8 billion, up 24% from a year ago despite supply constraints", iPad down 10 percent, Wearables, Home and Accessories down 8 percent, Services an all-time record of $31.6 billion up 10 percent; Parekh's guidance: December quarter revenue "to grow between 7% and 10% year-over-year", "We expect this to be the best quarter for revenue in the history of the company", Services growth of 8 to 9 percent, gross margin of 45 to 46 percent; Ternus's "What we're seeing with memory pricing right now is unprecedented" and, beyond December, "we see the pricing for memory purchases continuing to increase"; Khan's "The Q4 constraints were primarily driven by the availability of the advanced nodes our SOCs are produced on, but as we have transitioned more of our lineup to the latest 2nm technology nodes, our constraints on advanced nodes are easing" and "For the December quarter, we expect constraints on Mac and iPad, and it's primarily driven by memory, and that's because the demand has been higher than what we expected"; accessed November 3, 2026.
  4. CNBC, “Apple Q4 2026 earnings live updates: Ternus' first call” accessed Nov 3, 2026Kif Leswing, updated November 2, 2026, 8:50 p.m. Eastern: LSEG consensus of $1.99 a share and $113.39 billion of revenue against the reported $2.10 and $114.48 billion; Mac expected at $9.61 billion against the reported $10.79 billion; the stock down 3 percent in extended trading; December quarter guidance of 7 to 10 percent growth against a 6.1 percent consensus and a 45 to 46 percent gross margin against 46.3 percent; accessed November 3, 2026.
  5. MacRumors, “Apple Reports 4Q 2026 Results: $30.7B Profit on $114.5B Revenue - MacRumors” accessed Nov 3, 2026Jordan Golson, November 2, 2026, 1:38 p.m. Pacific: revenue of $114.5 billion up 12 percent from $102.5 billion, net profit of $30.7 billion, EPS of $2.10 against $1.85, gross margin of 47.9 percent against 47.2 percent a year earlier; accessed November 3, 2026.
  6. MacRumors, “Apple's Q4 2026 Earnings Call Takeaways - MacRumors” accessed Nov 3, 2026Juli Clover, November 2, 2026: "Apple isn't able to meet demand for the iPhone Duo, and there's no word on when supply/demand balance will be reached"; "Apple's price increases in June and September offset some of the pressure, as do lower costs from some non-memory components and carry-in inventory"; Mac and iPad constraints expected in the December quarter because of memory demand; December quarter guidance of 7 to 10 percent revenue growth and a 45 to 46 percent gross margin on higher memory costs; accessed November 3, 2026.
  7. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, “Apple Inc. Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1, January 29, 2026: condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarter ended December 27, 2025” accessed Nov 3, 2026Total net sales of $143,756 million for the three months ended December 27, 2025, the base our 7 and 10 percent arithmetic for the December 2026 quarter is built on; accessed November 3, 2026.
  8. Apple Newsroom, “Tim Cook to become Apple Executive Chairman John Ternus to become Apple CEO - Apple” accessed Nov 3, 2026The April 20, 2026 announcement that John Ternus becomes Apple's chief executive officer effective September 1, 2026, with Tim Cook executive chairman; the inline article image Apple captions "John Ternus."; accessed November 3, 2026.

Then and now

All pairings

In 2005 Apple's best-ever quarter and year beat the analysts' $0.37 guess with $0.50 a share; in 2026 the best-ever year is $478.8 billion and the quarter beat Apple's own range.

Also on November 3, other years

Every November 3 since 1997

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