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Economy & Your Money

Apple beats revenue estimates in new CEO John Ternus's first earnings report

iPhone sales topped forecasts and iPad sales fell short, and Apple has raised its own prices amid a memory chip shortage.

5 news outlets reported this
Liberal2 outletsRevenue beat shadowed by China miss, memory costsCenter2 outletsiPhone strength against signs of slowing growthConservative1 outletTernus passes an early test
Published 3 min readMoney and daily life
Overview

Apple reported results for its fiscal fourth quarter on Monday, the first under CEO John Ternus, who took over from Tim Cook in September. Revenue was $114.5 billion, above what expected, according to Business Insider and the New York Post. iPhone revenue was $57.58 billion, also above analyst estimates. Business Insider and the Post both say iPad sales fell short of estimates.

Business Insider also reports that China revenue missed analyst estimates, while analyst Dan Ives told the Post it was "the star of the show." Apple raised iPhone prices by $100 and, the Post says, Mac and iPad prices too, amid a memory chip shortage. Business Insider quotes Ternus calling memory pricing "unprecedented" and says the company expects memory costs to rise in the holiday quarter.

Business Insider and the Post say shares traded roughly flat after hours, while a Wall Street Journal headline says shares fall. The foldable iPhone Duo went on sale after the quarter ended. The Post reports that customers found cracks near its hinge and that Apple promised to replace affected devices.

Key figures
  • $114.5 billion quarterly revenue, versus $113.46 billion expected, per Business Insider — Business Insider
  • $57.58 billion iPhone revenue, versus $56.48 billion expected, per Business Insider — Business Insider
  • $17.54 billion China revenue, versus $18.75 billion expected, per Business Insider — Business Insider
  • $6.23 billion iPad sales, versus $6.83 billion expected, per Business Insider — Business Insider
  • 47.9% gross margin, lifted by tariff refunds, per Business Insider — Business Insider

Three sides of the story

Liberal2 outlets

Revenue beat shadowed by China miss, memory costs

Business Insider builds its report around a split result. Apple topped estimates for revenue and , but China and iPad sales landed below what analysts expected. It quotes Ternus calling memory pricing "unprecedented" and CFO Kevan Parekh saying that, without refunds, margin would be down about a point from the prior quarter.

It adds Investing.com analyst Jesse Cohen, who calls the China shortfall "a worrying pattern." Semafor is shorter. It leads with strong revenue growth on steady smartphone demand despite soaring memory costs, which Apple blamed for a $100 iPhone price increase.

It describes Apple's relatively conservative approach to AI as unique and quotes an analyst, speaking to Bloomberg on Monday, who says Apple "should at least remain immune from some of that volatility" seen elsewhere in tech.

Center2 outlets

iPhone strength against signs of slowing growth

The Wall Street Journal's headline says Apple's growth machine is slowing and high prices might not save it, with shares falling as Ternus warns margins may weaken in future quarters. Forbes leads with the number: iPhone revenue of $57.6 billion in Ternus' first report as CEO, topping analyst predictions.

Conservative1 outlet

Ternus passes an early test

The New York Post says Ternus "appears to have passed an early test" after taking over from Cook. It reports the revenue beat and 12% yearly jump, the iPad shortfall, and the $100 iPhone price increase tied to a worldwide memory shortage. Dan Ives of Yorkville Ives & Co tells the Post that China was "the star of the show" and calls the quarter impressive.

The Post notes the results include eight days of iPhone 18 Pro sales, then turns to the iPhone Duo, with its near-$2,000 price, overnight lines and customer reports of cracks near the hinge. It quotes Ternus calling the Duo "the most transformational iPhone since the original" and notes his statement did not address the cracks. It also cites an Oppenheimer analyst on Apple's premium valuation and slow expected earnings growth.

Money and daily life

For shoppers, Apple raised the price of iPhones by $100, according to Semafor and the New York Post, and the Post says Mac and iPad prices went up too. The new foldable iPhone Duo costs nearly $2,000, the Post reports. Business Insider says Apple expects memory costs to rise in the holiday quarter.

All sources: 6 articles from 5 outlets

Liberal (2)

Center (2)

Conservative (2)

Wall Street

A street in New York where the stock exchange stands. In the news it means US financial markets and the big banks and investment firms as a whole.

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Quarterly earnings

Public companies report their profits every three months. “Beat estimates” means profit came in above analysts' forecasts, “adjusted” leaves out one-off items, and “per share” is the profit divided by the number of shares.

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Tariff

A tax on imported goods, paid at the border by the importer, who usually passes some or all of it into prices. Governments use tariffs to protect their producers or to press the other side in a trade dispute.

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