Apple warns memory chip costs will squeeze holiday margins despite earnings beat
New CEO John Ternus's first quarterly report beat Wall Street forecasts, but a warning of "unprecedented" memory price rises knocked the stock.
Part of a larger narrative
Apple reports record Q4 FY2026: $114.5B revenue under new CEO John Ternus
- Apple warns memory chip costs will squeeze holiday margins despite earnings beatyou are here
- Apple Says Memory Costs Are "Unprecedented," Dodges Future Price-Hike Question
What to know
- Apple's fiscal Q4 2026 revenue ($114.5B) and profit ($30.7B) beat Wall Street estimates in John Ternus's first earnings report as CEO.
- The stock fell after Ternus warned memory chip prices are rising at an "unprecedented" rate, with margins expected to shrink further in the holiday quarter.
- Greater China revenue missed estimates by over $1 billion even as iPhone and Mac outperformed, tempering the headline beat.
- Apple's guidance of 7-10% holiday revenue growth was overshadowed by margin concerns tied to memory costs and new Siri AI spending.
The dispute Whether Apple's relatively light AI infrastructure spending compared to rivals is a sound cost-conscious strategy or a long-term competitive risk given its reliance on Google's Gemini for Siri. · positions read across 42 posts and comments
Doubts persist about whether AI investment is delivering real returns, and Apple's cautious approach could be either prudent or a long-term risk.
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“No actual proof LLMs are having an ROI on enterprise's. LLM is as cheap as is it will ever be right now.”
wilsonpsufan22 · Reddit ↗
Tariff-related earnings gains went to Apple's profit rather than being passed back to consumers.
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“In other words, the money consumers used to pay Trump's tariffs was not refunded to the consumers, but went straight to Apple's bottom line instead.”
motionlessveloc · Hacker News ↗
The muted stock reaction is best explained by looking past the headline beat to segment weakness, particularly in China.
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“The weak spot is Greater China, $17.54B vs about $18.8B expected, which probably explains why the stock didn't pop.”
Holywizy · Reddit ↗
“OK, if on the disappointing side”
Ben Barringer, Head of technology research, Quilter Cheviot · The Guardian · Nov 1
John Ternus Apple CEOKevan Parekh Apple CFOBen Barringer Head of technology research, Quilter CheviotJacob Bourne Emarketer analyst
How it unfolded 7 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlespostscomments
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7
Apple's holiday revenue outlook is overshadowed by margin squeeze
Apple guided to 7-10% holiday-quarter revenue growth, but warned gross margins would shrink further due to memory costs and spending on the new Siri AI assistant, a point that weighed on the stock more than the growth forecast.
“Apple predicted revenue growth of 7% to 10% during the holiday season, but a warning that gross margins would be smaller due to higher memory costs and expenses related to the new Siri AI digital assistant, weighed on the stock.”
— Bloomberg Tech -
1 outlet first by Bloomberg Tech, 7d ago · read ↗
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There are two type of people, one who clicks the first link on Amazon and buy it. Second who research prices, sales, discounts, specs, and tons of other factors, and then make a purchase. First one will definitely use chatbot. Second one is most people on a text based social media platform.
2 more of the top 3 · 3 posts in this stretch
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Because NVIDIA literally pays its own customers to buy stuff from them. Apple can release a piece of cardboard with an small "i" on it and armies of people with line up to buy it.
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That Search % is going to go down over the next few years as Google Cloud ramps up. And thankfully Google Cloud has +35% op margins.
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Analysts say the global memory crisis is Ternus's first real test
Coverage characterized the disappointing gross-margin forecast as the first major challenge of Ternus's tenure, tied to a broader industry-wide memory shortage driven by AI datacenter demand.
“What we're seeing with memory pricing right now is unprecedented…”
— John Ternus, Apple CEO · source -
1 outlet first by CNBC, 7d ago · read ↗
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Apple released its fourth-quarter results for 2026 on Monday. Here's what analysts watching the iPhone maker say about its finances and their expectations for its future. https:// appleinsider.com/articles/26/1 1/03/analysts-on-aapl-how-observers-feel-about-apples-q4-financials?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon
2 more of the top 3 · 5 posts in this stretch
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Apple $AAPL JUST guided fiscal Q1 revenue growth of 7-10%, ahead of the 6.1% analysts expected, with Services growth of 8-9%. The CFO said the 45-46% gross margin outlook factors in memory chip expenses and Siri AI costs.
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Umm no, something specifically said made it drop a 4% percent in a minute after hours during the call. Watch back one of the live streams with the price graph in sync and you can see the statement the market didn’t like.
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Segment data show China revenue miss offset by Mac strength
Breakdown of results showed Greater China revenue of $17.54 billion versus about $18.8 billion expected, while Mac beat estimates by more than $1 billion, explaining why the headline beat did not lift the stock.
“The weak spot is Greater China, $17.54B vs about $18.8B expected, which probably explains why the stock didn't pop.”
— Holywizy -
People don't give a fuck. Whatever is most convenient is what will happen. The next big thing in phones is no phone at all. If the AI bulls are correct, the cool kids will not have phones. They will be for emergencies only. Like, if you really move through the science fiction universe, people won't even have an opportunity to "get bored enough to…
2 more of the top 3 · 4 posts in this stretch
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I borked my cherished 2019 trying to embiggen its CPU.So I bought one of those spiffy Studio Display units in anticipation of the Mac Mini refresh.But my strategy didn't account for local LLM mania.I'll be postponing my purchase so long as used Mac Minis, if you can find one, remain as (or more) expensive as a new one.
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Analysts expect #Apple to report a nearly 11% rise in revenue to $113 billion for the company's fiscal 4Q and net profit is expected to rise about 6% to $29 billion, chart @reuters.com
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4
Ternus warns memory chip prices are rising at an "unprecedented" rate
On the earnings call, Ternus said memory pricing was unprecedented and predicted Q4 costs would be even higher than the prior quarter; Apple shares fell in after-hours trading on the margin warning.
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1 outlet first by Guardian, 8d ago · read ↗
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first by Bloomberg.com, 8d ago
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But those few extra grands of revenue at the cost of millions in design and inventory to support that productNot to mention, at the price apple is selling their 27 inch display, i am doubtful anyone buying them want to make do with the base M chip. But if not the base chip, that will add even more inventory cost
2 more of the top 3 · 11 posts in this stretch
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Lots of growth but way more costs and the costs aren’t going away, they’re getting worse. No actual proof LLMs are having an ROI on enterprise’s. LLM is as cheap as is it will ever be right now. How many will foot the bill when Open AI and Anthropic start charging for their trillion dollar + of upcoming expense
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A preview of Apple's earnings call today https:// x.com/rsgnl/status/21173544020 54840780/video/1 @ apple_enthusiast # Apple # iOS # iPad
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3
Apple reports Q4 FY2026 results beating Wall Street estimates
Apple posted $114.5 billion in revenue and $30.7 billion in profit ($2.10 EPS), above consensus, with iPhone revenue of $57.58 billion outperforming forecasts while Services came in roughly in line.
“Revenue: $114.48 billion vs. $113.46 billion expected…”
— @unusual_whales -
first by 9to5Mac, 8d ago · also Neowin, Appleosophy, iClarified, Thurrott, MacStories, iThinkDifferent +5
12 more headlines
- Apple reports record $114.5 billion September quarter as iPhone and Mac sales surge Neowin · 8d ago
- Apple reports record September quarter as revenue hits $114.5 billion Appleosophy · 8d ago
- Apple Reports Record Q4 Revenue of $114.5 Billion, $30.7 Billion Profit iClarified · 8d ago
- Apple Revenues Up 12 Percent to $114.5 Billion Thurrott · 8d ago
- Apple Reports Q4 2026 Revenue of $114.5 Billion MacStories · 8d ago
- Apple Revenue Rises 12% to $114.5 Billion Under CEO John Ternus iThinkDifferent · 8d ago
- Apple beats fourth-quarter earnings expectations as revenue rises 12% to $114.5 billion Proactive · 8d ago
- Apple reports record $114.5 billion Q4 revenue as iPhone and Services surge The Apple Post · 8d ago
- Apple Hits Record $114.5B Revenue in John Ternus' First Report as CEO iPhone in Canada · 8d ago
- Apple reports Q4 2026 earnings: $114.5 billion in revenue, up 12% 9to5Mac · 8d ago
- iPhone sales lifted Apple to record September-quarter revenue of $114.5 billion Quartz · 8d ago
- Apple's iPhone hauls in $57.6B as revenue hits September-quarter record $114.5B RuntimeWire · 8d ago
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first by KIRO 7 News Seattle, 7d ago · also Japan Today, AP News, The Hindu, Philadelphia Inquirer, Yahoo! Finance Canada, Toronto Star +2
1 more headline
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A preview of Apple's earnings call today
2 more of the top 3 · 19 posts in this stretch
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Update: the segment numbers are out. The weak spot is Greater China, $17.54B vs about $18.8B expected, which probably explains why the stock didn't pop. Mac was the surprise beat by over $1B. I put every segment vs estimates in one table here (iPhone, Services, Mac, iPad, China, net income)…
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It's Apple earnings season. It's John Ternus' turn to sit in the analyst hot seat for the first time. If you want to see how Apple did (well in my non-analyst opinion), we have some pretty charts on MacStories. https://www. macstories.net/news/apple-repo rts-q4-2026-revenue-of-114-5-billion/
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2
Outlets flag memory-cost surge as the key risk heading into the call
Multiple previews (Reuters, Investing.com, The Hindu, Euronews) said investors wanted clarity on holiday sales, rising memory costs and Apple's AI plans before Ternus's first earnings call.
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first by Semafor, 8d ago · also The Guardian, Associated Press, NY Post, New York Post
2 more headlines
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first by Reuters, 9d ago · also The Hindu, Euronews, Investing.com News, Channel News Asia
2 more headlines
- Apple's new CEO John Ternus to face first earnings test as memory costs surge The Hindu · 9d ago
- Apple's new CEO faces earnings test as rising chip costs cloud outlook Euronews · 8d ago
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1
Press previews frame earnings as test for new CEO Ternus
Ahead of the report, coverage framed the results as a gauge of how incoming CEO John Ternus was handling inflated memory prices and a tougher consumer spending backdrop.
Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet
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first by Fortune, 8d ago · also Yahoo! Finance Canada
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first by Daring Fireball, 8d ago · also Six Colors
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first by CNBC, 8d ago · also Investing.com News
1 more headline
- Apple beats quarterly estimates for profit and revenue Investing.com · 8d ago
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first by Six Colors, 8d ago · also 9to5Mac
1 more headline
- Here's how to listen live to Apple's Q4 2026 earnings call 9to5Mac · 8d ago
and 9 smaller pieces
What people are saying 12 voices from 4 sites · best of 42 · verbatim
- How much further will memory chip costs rise before margins stabilize?
- Will Apple's reliance on Alphabet's Gemini for Siri become a long-term competitive liability?
- Nov 2
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> Diluted earnings per share was $2.10, up 14 percent year over year, and included a favorable impact of $0.05 from tariff refunds.In other words, the money consumers used to pay Trump's tariffs was not refunded to the consumers, but went straight to Apple's bottom line instead.
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This is a crazy big number. I think the problem for them now is how people are going to be able to afford to keep buying their products in the age of AI job replacement? They'll have to massively increase their prices and become more of a luxury product and manufacture fewer units with bigger margins.
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They would not, they would make less on Studio Displays and Mac Studios and Mac Minis, the decision not to do is product segmentation because they hate us customers and want to maximise revenue :-/
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Still an open question whether not investing in AI infrastructure was the right move. They did better than Alphabet, Amazon and Intel, but Apple renting its AI from Alphabet (Gemini with Siri) might be a long term risk, since they're building on someone else's platform.
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J
Just posted on Six Colors: Hello, everyone, it’s John: Apple’s Q4 2026 earnings call transcript https:// sixcolors.com/post/2026/11/hel lo-everyone-its-john-apples-q4-2026-earnings-call-transcript/
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Apple $AAPL just reported Q4 earnings: - Revenue: $114.48 billion vs. $113.46 billion expected - EPS: $2.10 vs. $2.00 expected - iPhone: $57.58 billion vs. $56.48 billion expected - Services: $31.57 billion vs. $31.58 billion expected
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Mix of things: beat on iPhone and Mac, but China missed by over $1B ($17.54B vs ~$18.8B), and it went in at its highest P/E since 2007, so a beat was already priced in. Most people are waiting on the holiday guidance from the call before moving.
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New CEO John Ternus delivers an Apple earnings beat — but soft China and iPad sales https://www. businessinsider.com/apple-q4-e arnings-china-ipad-sales-miss-2026-11?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub Posted into Tech @ tech-BusinessInsider
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Apple just reported earnings: - $114.5 billion revenue (up 12%) - 46.9% gross margin (adjusted to remove tariff refunds) - $2.05 EPS (adjusted to remove tariff refunds) My expectations, which were above consensus estimates, heading into today: - $113.8 billion revenue - 46.8% gross margin (exclu...
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Apple's outlook for 1Q27: - Revenue growth: 7% to 10%. - Services revenue: 8% to 9% (third-party licensing and FX headwinds) - Gross margin: 45% to 46% (higher memory costs / Siri AI) Noisy guidance (as expected) impacted by a variety of issues including supply issues.
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$AAPL Apple Q4 FY26 (Sep. quarter): 📱 Products +12% Y/Y to $82.9B 💳 Services +10% Y/Y to $31.6B • Revenue +12% Y/Y to $114.5B ($1.1B beat) • Operating margin 31% (-1pp Y/Y) • EPS $2.10 ($0.11 beat)
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Heads up. This is happening today. CNBC: Apple earnings live updates: New CEO John Ternus faces first Wall Street test https://www. cnbc.com/2026/11/02/apple-aapl -q4-2026-earnings-live-updates.html @ CNBC # Apple