{
  "id": 17882430,
  "title": "Apple forecasts rising costs, lower services; shares slip",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/apple-forecasts-rising-costs-lower-services-shares-slip-17882430",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-02T23:56:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Business Times - Companies & Markets",
    "slug": "the-business-times-companies-markets",
    "url": "https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/telcos-media-tech/apple-forecasts-rising-costs-lower-services-shares-slip"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Apple, the tech giant, has forecasted lower gross margins and weaker services revenue growth for the crucial holiday quarter in its fiscal results released on Monday. The company cited rising costs of memory chips as a key factor behind the anticipated decline in gross margins, which are now expected to be between 45% and 46%, compared to 47.9% in the previous quarter. Additionally, Apple projected services revenue growth of 8% to 9%, which fell short of analysts' expectations of 10.7%. Despite these weaker outlooks, the company's fiscal fourth-quarter sales exceeded estimates, reaching US$114.48 billion, compared to the projected US$113.39 billion. The improved results can be attributed to early demand for the iPhone 18 Pro lineup and higher prices. Apple's new CEO, John Ternus, acknowledged the challenges faced by the company, including customer reports of cracked screens on the recently launched iPhone Duo, a foldable phone that sold out quickly. Ternus mentioned that a small percentage of the devices had been returned for display issues, and Apple is actively working to ramp up production to meet the demand. The new iPhone Duo is currently experiencing supply chain constraints, with Ternus stating that the company is unable to predict when supply and demand will be in balance. Apple's strategy shift, which includes spacing out iPhone launches and introducing new non-iPhone products, such as touchscreen laptops and a smart-home hub, is aimed at spreading its yearly revenue cycle and mitigating the impact of component price increases, particularly from AI-driven memory-chip cost spikes.",
  "summary": "Fiscal fourth-quarter sales stood at US$114.48 billion, above analyst estimates of US$113.39 billion",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "Apple forecasts rising costs, lower services; shares slip",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/apple-forecasts-rising-costs-lower-services-shares-slip",
        "published": "2026-11-02T21:31:17.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}