Apple’s inventory surges 154% as memory chip costs climb
Apple says unprecedented memory chip costs will continue to rise, raising questions about future device prices as its inventory climbs to $14.5 billion.
Apple's inventory of computer memory surged 154% during its fiscal fourth quarter, reaching $14.54 billion from $11.09 billion in Q3, according to the company's earnings report. Year-over-year, inventory increased by an astonishing 154.3%, from $5.72 billion in Q4 of 2025. This surge in inventory was largely due to a significant rise in memory chip costs.
Apple CEO John Ternus told analysts on the earnings call that the current memory pricing situation is "unprecedented." While Apple's gross margin for the September quarter was 47.9%, Ternus attributed this to the impact of higher memory costs. He further predicted that memory costs would continue to rise beyond December, partially offset by price increases on certain devices, but with no ruling out of future price increases on Apple products.
COO Sabih Khan also highlighted the increased purchase obligations for memory chips, which grew by $33 billion from June to the September quarter, a figure that will be detailed in the annual filing.
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