Apple has reported record revenue of $114.5 billion for its fiscal fourth quarter, exceeding Wall Street expectations as strong demand for premium iPhones helped the technology company deliver another year of substantial growth.
The results, announced on Monday, November 2, mark the first quarterly earnings report under chief executive John Ternus, who succeeded Tim Cook in September.
Revenue for the three months ended September 26 rose approximately 12% from $102.5 billion a year earlier, while net income increased to $30.71 billion.
The company reported diluted earnings of $2.10 per share, compared with $1.85 in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected approximately $113.4 billion in revenue and earnings of $1.99 per share.
The figures demonstrate continued demand for Apple's products despite rising component costs, changes in its smartphone release schedule and wider uncertainty across the global technology industry.
iPhone remains Apple's biggest growth driver
Apple generated $57.58 billion in iPhone revenue during the quarter, an increase of approximately 17% from the previous year.
The performance established a September-quarter record for the company's largest product category.
The results included the initial sales period for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, which launched in September.
Apple's decision to prioritise premium models, alongside higher product prices, helped increase revenue.
However, revenue growth should not be interpreted as an equivalent increase in the number of devices sold.
Apple does not disclose quarterly iPhone unit shipments in its earnings report.
The company's first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, launched in October and was therefore excluded from the September-quarter financial results.
Its contribution will become clearer in subsequent reporting periods.
Services reaches another record
Apple's services business generated $31.57 billion, up from $28.75 billion a year earlier.
The division includes revenue from subscriptions, digital services and other activities across Apple's ecosystem.
Its continued expansion is important because services provide recurring revenue alongside the company's hardware business.
Mac revenue increased to $10.79 billion from $8.73 billion.
However, not every product category recorded growth.
iPad revenue declined to $6.23 billion, while the Wearables, Home and Accessories category fell to $8.30 billion.
The mixed performance highlights Apple's continuing dependence on iPhone sales and services for much of its revenue growth.
China delivers stronger sales
Apple reported $17.54 billion in Greater China revenue, compared with $14.49 billion in the same quarter of 2025.
The increase represented growth of approximately 21%.
China remains one of Apple's most important markets, but the company faces intense competition from domestic smartphone manufacturers and changing consumer preferences.
The regional results indicate stronger sales, although financial analysts noted that revenue remained below some market expectations.
Apple's Americas business generated $48.68 billion, while Europe contributed approximately $32 billion.
Revenue from the rest of the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Greater China and Japan, reached $9.71 billion.
The financial statements do not separately identify Nigerian or African revenue, making it impossible to establish a verified country-specific sales figure from this release.
Memory-chip costs threaten margins
Despite its strong financial performance, Apple faces rising costs for memory chips and other components.
The global expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure has increased demand for advanced computing hardware and placed pressure on parts of the semiconductor supply chain.
Apple executives warned that higher memory prices could affect profitability during the coming holiday quarter.
The company reported a gross margin of 47.9% for the September quarter.
That figure included a favourable contribution of approximately one percentage point from tariff refunds.
Apple expects gross margins of approximately 45% to 46% in the following quarter, according to Financial Times reporting on the company's earnings guidance.
This is a company forecast, not a confirmed future result.
The warning illustrates how the AI investment boom is affecting businesses beyond the companies developing large artificial intelligence models.
New chief executive faces a changing industry
The earnings announcement is an important early milestone for John Ternus, who became Apple's chief executive in September.
Ternus has inherited a company with a large installed base, a growing services division and an expanding range of consumer devices.
Apple is also developing its artificial intelligence capabilities, including improvements to Siri.
Unlike some competing technology companies, Apple has adopted a comparatively restrained approach to spending on large AI data-centre infrastructure.
That strategy may help preserve financial flexibility, although it also creates questions about the company's ability to compete as AI becomes more central to consumer technology.
The company faces additional challenges involving product supply, component costs and competition across global markets.
Apple closes a record financial year
For the full 2026 fiscal year, Apple reported revenue of approximately $478.83 billion, compared with $416.16 billion in 2025.
Annual net income reached $132.18 billion.
The company generated approximately $145.1 billion in operating cash flow during the year.
Apple also announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.27 per share, payable on November 16 to shareholders of record on November 12.
The financial results reinforce Apple's position among the world's largest and most profitable technology companies.
What happens next
Investor attention will now shift towards Apple's holiday-quarter performance, including demand for the iPhone Duo, premium iPhone models and newly introduced computing products.
The company has forecast revenue growth of approximately 7% to 10% for the December quarter, according to reports of its earnings guidance.
Supply constraints, memory prices and consumer demand will remain important variables.
For international markets, including Nigeria and other African economies, the broader implications include the potential effect of component shortages and pricing decisions on the availability and affordability of imported devices.
However, no Nigeria-specific pricing change was confirmed in Apple's earnings announcement.
The November 2 results establish that Apple's revenue, profit and iPhone sales continued to grow strongly during the September quarter.
The challenge for its new leadership will be maintaining that momentum while managing rising costs and an increasingly competitive global technology market.
