Apple beats Wall Street forecasts on strong iPhone 18 Pro demand
Apple reported fiscal fourth-quarter sales of US$114.48 billion, beating analyst estimates, driven by early demand for iPhone 18 Pro models and price increases. Profit was US$2.10 per share, above estimates, despite rising memory-chip costs. New CEO John Ternus faces supply constraints on the foldab
Apple on Monday reported quarterly results that beat Wall Street expectations, driven by early demand for its iPhone 18 Pro lineup and price increases that helped offset rising memory-chip costs, the company said.
Fiscal fourth-quarter sales were US$114.48 billion, above analyst estimates of US$113.39 billion, according to LSEG data. Profit was US$2.10 per share, above estimates of US$1.99 per share, even excluding 5 cents per share from tariff refunds. Apple shares fell roughly 1 per cent in volatile after-hours trading.
The results come as Apple experiments with changes under new CEO John Ternus, who took over in September. For the first time in nearly two decades, Apple is spacing out iPhone launches, with Pro and Duo models shipping this year and other models expected next year. The company also released its first touchscreen laptops and first smart-home hub in the current holiday quarter, a shift analysts said is meant to smooth out Apple's yearly revenue cycle.
Apple has faced customer reports of cracked screens on the iPhone Duo, its first foldable phone, which sold out quickly online and spurred store lines last month. Ternus told Reuters that “a very small percentage” of Duo units had been returned for display issues and that Apple is replacing them. “Duo is constrained as of today,” he said, adding that the company cannot predict when supply and demand will balance.
Fourth-quarter iPhone sales, including iPhone 18 Pro models but not Duo sales, were US$57.58 billion, above estimates of US$56.54 billion, according to LSEG data. The strategy shift comes as Apple faces an AI-driven memory-chip price spike that former CEO Tim Cook likened to a 100-year flood.
Apple increased prices on iPhone 17 models by US$100 and on some MacBooks, helping offset higher memory costs. Gross margins were 47.9 per cent, above analyst estimates of 47.5 per cent, according to LSEG data. Another cost factor is the new AI-infused Siri, which Ternus said now handles 2.5 billion requests per day. “Now we have the Siri that we always wanted,” he said.
Mac computer sales were US$10.79 billion, above estimates of US$9.61 billion, as they gain popularity for hosting AI agents. Services revenue was US$31.57 billion, in line with estimates. Sales of iPads and wearables were US$6.23 billion and US$8.30 billion, both below estimates.