Apple Q4 2026 Earnings Live Updates: Ternus First Call

Wamsi Mohan, an analyst at Bank of America, said Friday that his team had a “cautious outlook” for earnings due to concerns about gross margin and price increases.

The analyst pointed out that Apple’s gross margins in the September quarter will be boosted by the positive impact of tariff refunds and that margins could decline in future quarters.

Apple reported a gross margin of 49.3% for its June quarter, but warned it would be between 47.5% and 48% for the September period.

“Investors will likely focus on component cost inflation, gross margin sustainability and service revenue growth,” Mohan wrote in the note.

Bank of America maintains a Buy rating on the stock and a $370 price target.

-Kif Leswing

Apple is competing in a smartphone and PC market that has “never been worse,” IDC’s Ryan Reith told CNBC.

Consumer electronics companies around the world are grappling with soaring prices for computer components, including the memory and flash storage used in all smartphones and laptops.

Intel Friday had its worst stock day since the 1970s, down 29%, after the company cited PC weakness as a disappointing forecast.

Many companies have responded to component shortages by raising prices or reducing specifications of current devices. Consumers are holding on to their old computers much longer, which is driving down sales.

IDC says the smartphone market is expected to fall nearly 17% this year based on shipments. PCs could be down 11%.

Apple is not immune. The company has raised prices on almost all of its products since its executives warned over the summer that the market was in a “millennial flood.”

-Kif Leswing

Apple’s new $2,000 foldable phone won’t generate any sales for the quarter that ended last month. While Apple and Ternus announced new iPhones on September 9, the foldable Duo didn’t go on sale until a month later, on October 23.

Some analysts have speculated that Apple’s most committed fans may have been waiting to see the Duo released before buying it.

There will be a few weeks of sales of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, which go on sale September 18.

-Kif Leswing

Apple investors and customers are still getting to know Ternus, but since taking over from Tim Cook on September 1, the new CEO has embraced his new role as the face of the iPhone company.

Ternus’ first major appearance came nine days into his tenure, when he unveiled the iPhone Duo at Apple headquarters. A week later, he walked the red carpet at the Emmys. He then flew to New York, where he opened the doors of an Apple Store to commemorate the sale of the new iPhone Pro. He also traveled to Austin, Texas, this month to launch sales of the iPhone Duo, and appeared at an elementary school and an F1 race during his trip.

And he’s had a busy media schedule, including an appearance on the cover of Time magazine.

Last week, Ternus continued a new style of Apple product introductions by unveiling the first MacBook with a touchscreen using a form factor it first tried in the spring. That’s when Apple launched its low-cost MacBook Neo. Ternus spoke to a crowd of media and analysts, giving a five-minute speech interspersed with a few short videos.

Investors will get their first in-depth look at Ternus on Monday. He responded to the latest calls, but did not offer in-depth remarks and largely deferred to Cook when asked questions.

-Kif Leswing

As its earnings report nears, Apple has become Wall Street’s favorite mega-cap tech stock. Shares are up 27% this year as of Friday’s close, far outpacing Apple’s main competitors.

It is also the last of the group (with the exception of Nvidia, which will publish its report next month) to publish its quarterly results. Investors haven’t been kind to hyperscalers over the past couple of weeks, scrutinizing their high expenses and declining cash flows.

Apple is in a much different category, as the iPhone maker has avoided huge capital expenditures, taking a more measured approach to its AI investments.

—Ari Lévy