The company's fourth-quarter revenue reached $114.48 billion, boosted by early demand for the iPhone 18 Pro lineup and price increases on select older devices. However, projected holiday quarter gross margins between 45 per cent and 46 per cent disappointed investors who were tracking earlier margins of 47.9 per cent. To stabilize seasonal volatility, Apple plans to introduce its first touchscreen laptops and smart-home hubs alongside staggered device launches. Production constraints also persist for the foldable iPhone Duo, where sporadic cracked screen reports have emerged.
Key points
Rising component expenses driven by artificial intelligence demand are compressing Apple'…: Rising component expenses driven by artificial intelligence demand are compressing Apple's near-term profitability despite solid hardware revenue.
Leadership is restructuring hardware release timelines and launching smart-home hubs to m…: Leadership is restructuring hardware release timelines and launching smart-home hubs to minimize dramatic seasonal revenue swings.
Manufacturing delays and sporadic display issues on the foldable iPhone Duo are complicat…: Manufacturing delays and sporadic display issues on the foldable iPhone Duo are complicating efforts to meet strong buyer demand.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 2 : Apple on Monday forecast lower gross margins for the crucial holiday quarter, citing rising memory-chip costs, and projected services revenue growth that fell well short of Wall Street expectations.
Shares of the iPhone maker, which were little changed in after-hours trading after it reported fiscal fourth-quarter results that beat expectations, fell 4 per cent during a conference call after executives outlined the weaker outlook. The quarter was boosted by early demand for the iPhone 18 Pro lineup and higher prices.
Apple said it expects gross margin of 45 per cent to 46 per cent in the quarter ending in December, down from 47.9 per cent in the fourth quarter. It forecast services revenue growth of 8 per cent to 9 per cent, below analysts' expectations of 10.7 per cent.
The results and forecast come as Apple experiments with a string of firsts under new CEO John Ternus, who took over in September. After nearly two decades of launching most of its new iPhones each autumn, Apple this year is spacing those out, with iPhone Pro…
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Rising operational and supply expenses are set to impact Apple as memory component pricing trends upward through the end of the year and into subsequent quarters. This projected cost pressure coincides with a massive expansion in the hardware maker's stockpiles. Managing these combined dynamics will be critical as the company navigates ongoing shifts across its global supply chain.
Weakening demand for digital dating services has compressed margins and user participation across the tech company's core portfolio. Missed financial targets highlight ongoing operational friction as customer acquisition and retention momentum continue to slow. This persistent stagnation now clouds future operational profitability heading into the end of the year.