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Apple reported fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 revenue of US$114.5 billion, up 12 per cent from a year earlier, in a press release issued on 2 November US time. Diluted earnings per share rose 14 per cent to $2.10. MacRumors, which covered the results the same day, reports net quarterly profit of $30.7 billion, compared with $27.5 billion in the year-ago quarter, against year-ago revenue of $102.5 billion. Chief executive John Ternus and chief financial officer Kevan Parekh presented the results on a call that began at 2:00 p.m. Pacific time.
Gross margin came in at 47.9 per cent, up from 47.2 per cent a year earlier, according to MacRumors' figures. Apple's release says the margin included a favourable impact of about one percentage point from tariff refunds. Earnings per share also included a benefit of US$0.05 from the same refunds. Part of the improvement in profitability therefore came from a one-off source, not only from sales. The sources read for this article do not say whether further refunds are expected.
The fiscal year produced an all-time record of US$479 billion in revenue, according to the release, and the quarter generated US$28 billion in operating cash flow. Apple also declared a cash dividend of US$0.27 per share, with a record date of 12 November and payment due on 16 November 2026.
The outlook drew the most attention on the call. As quoted in MacRumors' transcript, Parekh expects total company revenue for the December quarter to grow between 7 and 10 per cent year over year. He expects services revenue to grow between 8 and 9 per cent. He guided gross margin to between 45 and 46 per cent, and operating expenses to between $20.4 billion and $20.8 billion. He also expects other income and expense of around $300 million and a tax rate of about 17 per cent.
The guided margin range sits below the 47.9 per cent reported for the September quarter. The release attributes part of the current margin to tariff refunds but does not explain why the December range is lower. The sources read here do not give that explanation either, so readers should treat the gap as unexplained rather than as a settled trend.
The results matter because they set a near-term benchmark. Apple's revenue growth of 12 per cent in the quarter, and its record fiscal year, give a baseline against which the 7 to 10 per cent December forecast can be judged. Investors and analysts will compare the actual December figures, once Apple reports them, with that range and with the margin guidance.
Several points remain open. The sources read for this article do not break revenue down by region or product line beyond the totals stated, and they do not estimate the size of any future tariff refunds. The guidance figures come from a transcript excerpt quoted by MacRumors, which was truncated in the version read. The full call transcript should be checked before any figure is used in a decision.
This article reports the company's published figures and guidance. It is not investment advice.
Sources
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