Apple results beat Wall Street expectations on strong iPhone sales

Apple's fiscal fourth-quarter results exceeded Wall Street's expectations due to strong demand for its new iPhone 18 Pro lineup and price increases that helped offset rising memory-chip costs. The company reported fiscal fourth-quarter sales of $114.48 billion, surpassing analyst estimates of $113.39 billion. Profit for the quarter was $2.10 per share, exceeding expectations of $1.99 per share, even when excluding 5 cents per share from tariff refunds.

Apple shares were slightly lower in after-hours trading following the release of results. Apple has been experimenting with new product launches under CEO John Ternus, who took over in September. This year, the company is spacing out iPhone releases, with Pro and Duo models shipping this year, and other models expected next year.

Apple also introduced new non-iPhone products, such as touchscreen laptops and its first smart-home hub, in the current holiday shopping quarter. Despite customer reports of cracked screens on the iPhone Duo, which sold out quickly, Apple is replacing the faulty units. The company is unable to meet demand for the devices at this time.

Ternus stated that fourth-quarter iPhone sales, excluding Duo sales, reached $57.58 billion, surpassing analyst estimates of $56.54 billion. The price increases of iPhone 17 models by $100 and some MacBook prices helped mitigate the impact of memory-chip cost increases. Gross margins were 47.9%, above analyst estimates of 47.5%. iPad and wearables sales were below estimates, while Mac computer sales exceeded expectations. Services revenue was in line with analyst estimates.