Apple posts record September-quarter revenue in Ternus's first report, but warns on margins
Apple's iPhone and Services drove a 12% revenue gain. It forecast December-quarter sales above estimates, but margins below them.
By Marcus Rodriguez ·
Why it matters: Apple expects faster sales growth than analysts do, but thinner margins, and tariff refunds boosted this quarter's profit.
For information only, not investment advice. Prices delayed.
Tickers: AAPL
Apple ($AAPL) gave John Ternus a record September quarter for his first earnings report as CEO. Ternus took over from Tim Cook on Sept. 1, CNBC noted. Revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 26, rose 12% from a year earlier to $114.5 billion, and diluted earnings per share rose 14% to $2.10, Apple said Monday.
Tariff refunds helped: Apple said they added $0.05 to earnings per share and about 1 percentage point to its 47.9% gross margin.
Where the money came from
iPhone was again the engine, bringing in $57,583 million, up from $49,025 million a year earlier. Ternus called it a September-quarter record for iPhone, with Services at an all-time high. The rest of the lineup, in millions of dollars, compared with a year earlier:
- Services: 31,573, up from 28,750
- Mac: 10,792, up from 8,726
- Wearables, Home and Accessories: 8,300, down from 9,013
- iPad: 6,229, down from 6,952
Ternus said the quarter capped off Apple's best fiscal year ever. CFO Kevan Parekh put full-year revenue at a record $479 billion, with double-digit growth in earnings per share. He said Apple generated $28 billion in operating cash flow during the quarter, which let it return $28 billion to shareholders. The board also declared a dividend of $0.27 a share.
Higher prices, mixed outlook
Part of the revenue gain came from higher prices. Ternus said that Apple "reluctantly" raised prices, which helped it offset component costs, CNBC reported.
The outlook pulled in two directions. Apple expects December-quarter revenue to grow 7% to 10% from a year earlier, above the 6.1% analysts expected on average, according to LSEG. But its gross margin forecast of 45% to 46% trails the 46.3% average estimate, per CNBC.
Sources
Tags: earnings · big-tech · guidance