Apple says memory costs are still climbing, and it doesn’t expect relief after the holidays. On its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings call, CEO John Ternus said memory prices will keep rising through the December quarter and beyond.
What we’re seeing with memory pricing right now is unprecedented.
Ternus made the remark on the call, as reported by MacRumors. He said the December quarter will be worse, and that Apple expects memory prices to keep increasing after that.
For buyers, the real question is whether Apple will raise prices again. An analyst asked exactly that. COO Sabih Khan took the question and did not give a direct answer, according to MacRumors.
Apple memory costs, prices and margins
Apple cushioned the September quarter with memory it had stockpiled at lower prices, plus cheaper non-memory parts. For the December quarter, it also points to the price increases it made in June and September on iPads, Macs and iPhones. CFO Kevan Parekh said Apple made those increases reluctantly, per MacRumors.
Apple expects a gross margin of 45 to 46% in the December quarter, down from 47.9% in September. MacRumors attributes the drop mainly to higher memory costs, plus some Siri AI spending. Part of the gap has another cause, though. According to Apple’s press release, September’s 47.9% included a boost of about one percentage point from tariff refunds.
Apple is also stocking up. Its inventory more than doubled year over year to $14.5 billion, MacRumors reports. Manufacturing purchase obligations rose $33 billion from the June quarter to the September quarter.
Memory costs are pushing Android prices up too, from Lava’s November 15 price hike to Samsung’s latest results.
Mac and iPad supply will stay tight
Apple expects Mac and iPad supply to be constrained through the December quarter, according to MacRumors’ takeaways from the call. Memory is the main cause. Demand has also been higher than Apple expected.
No date for when iPhone Duo supply catches up
Separately, Ternus told Reuters that Apple can’t predict when iPhone Duo supply will match demand, The Verge reports. He said Apple is working to get the foldable to as many customers as quickly as possible.
The Duo launched last month at $1,999, with a 5.4-inch outer screen and a 7.6-inch inner screen. Preorders sold out, and some shipments aren’t expected to arrive until 2027. Verizon has delayed some Duo pre-orders as well.
Ternus also said a very small share of Duos had been returned with cracked screens. Apple is replacing them.
Apple’s Q4 2026 numbers
Apple’s fiscal fourth quarter ended September 26. Revenue rose 12% year over year to $114.5 billion. Diluted earnings per share rose 14% to $2.10, including a $0.05 benefit from tariff refunds.
- iPhone: $57.6 billion, up from $49.0 billion
- Mac: $10.8 billion, up from $8.7 billion
- iPad: $6.2 billion, down from $7.0 billion
- Wearables, Home and Accessories: $8.3 billion, down from $9.0 billion
- Services: $31.6 billion, up from $28.8 billion
- Greater China: $17.5 billion, up from $14.5 billion (up 21% and a quarterly record, per MacRumors)
- Net income: $30.7 billion, up from $27.5 billion
For the full fiscal year, Apple reported $478.8 billion in revenue and $132.2 billion in net income. It expects December-quarter revenue to grow 7 to 10% year over year. Apple will pay a dividend of $0.27 per share on November 16 to shareholders of record on November 12.
Sources: Apple Newsroom, Apple consolidated financial statements, MacRumors, MacRumors (call takeaways), Reuters via The Verge
