On Thursday, July 30th, Apple announced its financial performance for the third quarter of the 2026 fiscal year ending in June, driven by strong sales of iPhone and Mac products, exceeding market expectations in both revenue and earnings per share. However, the company forecasted that revenue growth for the next quarter would be lower than Wall Street estimates, primarily due to ongoing tight supply of high-end chips and memory chips, causing concerns about its growth trajectory and leading to a post-market stock price drop of approximately 5.5%.
According to Reuters, Apple’s revenue for the third quarter reached $109.42 billion, a 16.4% year-on-year increase, with earnings per share of $2.02, both surpassing analyst estimates compiled by LSEG.
Among these figures, iPhone revenue reached $54.25 billion, a 21.7% increase year-on-year, and Mac revenue reached $10.35 billion, a 28.7% increase, both outperforming market expectations. Services revenue amounted to $30.74 billion, a 12.1% year-on-year increase, falling short of analyst forecasts, while iPad revenue also came in below market expectations.
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook stated that this was the company’s best performing June quarter ever, with nearly all product lines and major markets achieving double-digit growth.
Despite the impressive quarterly financial report, the market is more focused on the company’s outlook for the future.
Apple expects revenue for the fourth quarter ending in September to increase by 9% to 11% annually, lower than the market’s original estimate of around 12% growth. The company mentioned that although iPhone sales are expected to maintain double-digit growth, limited supply capacity has constrained shipment performance.
During the earnings call, Cook mentioned that market demand remains strong, but the supply chain’s flexibility is limited. He stated: “We continue to see demand exceeding supply.” Furthermore, he mentioned that the company is actively seeking more sources of memory chip supply, but due to ongoing tight supply, complete improvement in the short term is difficult.
Apple achieved a gross margin of 50.1% for the quarter, partially benefiting from one-time income brought by US tariff refunds. However, the company anticipates that future increases in memory chip prices will raise product costs.
In recent months, Apple has raised prices for some Mac and iPad products, but has not adjusted iPhone prices. Analysts believe that if component costs continue to rise, whether iPhone prices will increase in the future will be a key point of observation in the market.