Apple announced fiscal third-quarter 2026 revenue of $109.4 billion, a 16.4% increase year-over-year, with net profit rising 27.1% to $29.8 billion [1, 2]. The company said iPhone sales grew nearly 22% to $54.25 billion, while Mac revenue climbed around 29% to $10.35 billion [2, 3]. Services brought in $30.74 billion, up 12%, though slightly below analyst expectations [3, 4]. Revenue from the Greater China region rose 22% to $18.82 billion but also missed market estimates [3, 4].
Apple reported a record overall gross margin of 50.1% for the quarter, boosted by a $2 billion tariff refund worth about 2 percentage points; the adjusted margin was approximately 48.1% [3, 4]. CFO Kevan Parekh said the company expects Q4 gross margin between 47% and 48%, down from Q3 adjusted levels, citing the tariff refund benefit and anticipating operational expenses of $19.1 billion to $19.4 billion [5].
The company warned that supply chain constraints would significantly worsen in the fourth quarter. Tim Cook highlighted severe shortages in advanced chip production capacity required for Apple's custom silicon, aggravated by competition for memory from AI data center demand. He said, "The current supply restrictions are very significant," affecting iPhone, Mac, and iPad shipments in the short term [6]. Apple is exploring alternative suppliers but expects disruption to continue [6, 7].
Research and development spending hit $11.73 billion in Q3, a quarterly record and a 32% increase year-over-year [8]. Apple also launched a new Upgrade leasing program for iPhone and Mac devices to support sales [9].
Despite the strong Q3 performance, Apple shares declined sharply in after-hours trading by as much as 8% following the cautious revenue guidance for Q4 [2, 3]. The company projects Q4 revenue growth of 9% to 11%, slightly below analyst expectations near 12% [5, 10]. iPhone revenue is expected to grow roughly 15% in Q4 [5].
CEO Tim Cook announced plans to step down on September 1, 2026, handing over to hardware engineering lead John Ternus [3, 4]. The leadership transition will take effect shortly after Apple's upcoming fourth-quarter results.
