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Apple posted $114.5B in fiscal Q4 revenue and $2.10 EPS in John Ternus's first report as CEO, with iPhone up 17%, yet AAPL slipped about 1% after hours.
- Revenue rose 12% to a record $114.5B for the September quarter; EPS of $2.10 beat the $1.98 consensus.
- iPhone revenue climbed about 17% to $57.58B, and Services reached an all-time high of $31.6B.
- Tariff refunds added roughly 1 point to gross margin and $0.05 to EPS; AAPL fell about 1% after hours.
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Apple (AAPL) beat Wall Street forecasts for its fiscal fourth quarter on Monday, November 2, 2026, in the first earnings report under CEO John Ternus. Revenue reached $114.5B, up 12% from a year earlier and above the company's own guidance range. Diluted earnings per share of $2.10 rose 14% and cleared the $1.98 consensus. Shares nonetheless dipped about 1% in extended trading as investors turned to forward guidance and margin commentary.What Did Apple Report for the September Quarter?
Apple reported record September-quarter revenue of $114.5B and EPS of $2.10, capping what Ternus called the company's best fiscal year ever. Revenue exceeded the roughly $113B expected going into the report.
iPhone revenue rose to $57.58B from $49.03B a year earlier, a gain of about 17% and a September-quarter record. Mac revenue climbed to $10.79B from $8.73B, up roughly 24%. Services, which includes the App Store, iCloud and subscriptions, reached $31.6B and carried a gross margin of about 76%. That made it 27.6% of revenue but roughly 44% of total gross profit.Company gross margin was 47.9%, which included a favorable impact of about 1 percentage point from tariff refunds. The same refunds added $0.05 to EPS, so underlying earnings were about $2.05, still ahead of consensus. Apple also said its active installed base of devices hit an all-time high, which supports recurring Services revenue.
Why Did Apple Stock Slip Despite the Beat?
AAPL slipped about 1% after hours because the headline beat was already largely priced in and attention shifted to December-quarter guidance and margins. The stock had entered the report near record territory, and the tariff-refund benefit flattered both gross margin and EPS in a way that will not repeat.
Investors also have memory-chip costs in view. Higher component prices have pressured hardware margins across the industry, and the conference call at 5:00 p.m. ET was the first chance for Ternus and the finance team to address how much of that cost Apple can absorb or pass through. A 1% move is modest compared with some past post-earnings reactions, which suggests the market treated the quarter as solid rather than disappointing.
How Significant Is Ternus's First Report as CEO?
Ternus's debut matters mainly as a continuity test. He inherited a business with a record installed base, a Services segment that generates nearly half of gross profit, and an iPhone cycle that is growing at a double-digit rate. A 17% iPhone gain in the September quarter, which captures only the opening weeks of a new device cycle, gives the new chief executive a strong start.
His background in hardware engineering aligns with where the quarter's strength came from: iPhone and Mac together contributed about $68B of revenue. The strategic questions for the coming quarters are less about demand and more about margin structure, supply costs, tariff policy and how quickly Apple Intelligence features translate into upgrades and Services engagement.
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What Comes Next for Apple's Margins and Guidance?
The December quarter is Apple's seasonally largest, and it will show whether the September iPhone momentum carries into the holiday period. Two variables will shape the result. The first is memory and component costs, which weigh on hardware gross margin. The second is tariffs: the Q4 refunds were a one-time benefit, so any ongoing duty regime will determine whether the 47.9% margin is a ceiling or a floor.
Services is the stabilizer. At a 76% gross margin and with an expanding installed base, it cushions overall profitability against hardware cost swings.
Outlook
Apple closed its best fiscal year with record September-quarter revenue of $114.5B, double-digit iPhone and Mac growth, and an all-time high in Services. The 1% after-hours dip reflects a market focused on guidance, memory costs and the fading tariff-refund tailwind rather than on the quarter itself. Ternus's first test is delivering a strong holiday quarter while holding margins near current levels.
