Apple Q4 Earnings: New CEO Ternus Faces First Test as iPhone 18 Sales in Focus

Apple Q4 earnings arrive after the closing bell on Monday, November 2, 2026, and this report carries more weight than a routine quarterly update. It is the first earnings presentation under John Ternus, who succeeded Tim Cook as chief executive on September 1, and it lands in a week dominated by the November 3 midterm elections, a bruising technology sell-off and a fresh debate about whether the artificial intelligence spending boom can keep paying for itself.

Wall Street expects Apple to report revenue of about $113.4 billion for the July-to-September period, the company's fiscal fourth quarter, up from $102.46 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share are projected at roughly $2, against $1.85 in the same quarter last year, and net profit is expected to rise about 6 percent to around $29.04 billion, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. The numbers matter, but the guidance for the December holiday quarter may matter more, because it will capture the first full quarter of sales for Apple's newest devices.

Key Points

• Apple reports fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 results after the US market closes on Monday, November 2, 2026, with the earnings call following the release.
• Analysts expect revenue of about $113.4 billion and earnings per share of roughly $2, up from $102.46 billion and $1.85 a year earlier.
• iPhone revenue is forecast at about $56.5 billion, up around 15 percent year on year, on early sales of the iPhone 18 Pro line.
• Services revenue is expected to pass $31.5 billion, while Mac, iPad and wearables are forecast at $9.69 billion, $6.83 billion and $8.99 billion.
• New chief executive John Ternus hosts his first earnings call, with investors focused on holiday-quarter guidance, revamped Siri and rising memory-chip costs.

What Happened

Apple will announce its fiscal fourth-quarter results on Monday after the market closes, the company confirmed in its earnings calendar, with the results call hosted by Ternus. The quarter ended in late September, so it contains only about nine days of sales of the new iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, which were unveiled on September 10, opened for preorder on September 12 and went on sale on September 18. The iPhone 18 Pro started at 9,999 yuan in China and the Pro Max at 10,999 yuan, according to reports of the launch pricing.

That short selling window is precisely why analysts are reading the report as a preview rather than a verdict. The December quarter, which includes the holiday shopping season, will offer the first fuller picture of demand for the iPhone 18 Pro line and for Apple's first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, which opened for preorder on October 16 and reached stores on October 23. Its sales will not appear in the September quarter at all, although the company may still disclose early demand signals on the call.

The report also arrives on a crowded earnings day. Marriott reports before the open, while Palantir is among the companies reporting after the close alongside Apple. Investors will also be watching the October jobs report due on Friday, November 6, and the outcome of Tuesday's midterm elections, both of which could move markets before the week is out.

Background and Context

Ternus took over from Cook in September after a long tenure as Apple's hardware engineering chief, and he has overseen the introduction of the company's first foldable phone, a smart home hub and its first touch-screen laptops. All of those products began shipping during the current fiscal first quarter, so Monday's call is his first chance to set out, in his own words, how Apple plans to balance new hardware, services growth and the cost pressures building across the industry.

The cost pressure is real. Analysts expect Apple's profit growth to be its weakest in six quarters, largely because memory-chip prices have surged. Cook had previously described the rising memory costs as a "100-year flood," according to Reuters, and the shortage has become a central theme of this earnings season. Apple must show whether it can protect margins while keeping its newest devices in stock through the holidays.

Apple enters the report as the world's most valuable listed company once again. It regained the top spot from Nvidia during Friday's technology pullback, with a market capitalisation of around $5.03 trillion. On Friday itself Apple shares fell 1.2 percent while Nvidia fell 4.2 percent, a reminder that regaining the crown owed as much to rivals falling faster as to Apple's own strength. Friday's wider sell-off was sharp: the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.86 percent to 25,437, its worst single-day performance since June, the S&P 500 fell 1.82 percent to 7,580.07, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 572 points, or 1.09 percent, to close at 51,770.31.

For October as a whole, the Nasdaq recorded its worst monthly decline since March 2025, while the Dow gained nearly 2 percent as investors rotated toward defensive areas such as health care. Apple, with relatively limited exposure to the massive data-centre spending undertaken by its artificial intelligence rivals, has been partly insulated from that volatility, a point analysts have made repeatedly in recent weeks.

Apple Q4 Earnings: The Three Questions That Decide the Reaction

The first question is iPhone demand. Analysts forecast iPhone revenue of about $56.5 billion, up around 15 percent from a year earlier, slowing from growth of about 22 percent in the previous three months. With only nine days of iPhone 18 Pro sales in the quarter, the call's commentary on early demand, availability and the order backlog will be parsed more closely than the headline figure itself.

The second question is Services. The division, Apple's second-largest business, is expected to generate more than $31.5 billion, growth of almost 10 percent and its slowest pace in more than three years. Services has been the steady compounder of the Apple story, and any sign of deceleration there would weigh on the stock even if hardware beats expectations.

The third question is the holiday-quarter outlook. Management's forecast for the December quarter will shape expectations for the iPhone Duo's first holiday season, for the revamped Siri and Apple's artificial intelligence positioning, and for how far rising memory costs will eat into profits. Analysts have flagged all three as the issues that will decide whether the shares extend their recovery or join the wider technology pullback.

Reactions and Quotes

Analyst consensus, compiled by LSEG and reported by Reuters, puts revenue at about $113.39 billion and earnings per share at about $2, with net profit of roughly $29.04 billion. Other compilations cited in market previews put revenue at $113.46 billion, a difference that underlines how tight the range of expectations is: a beat or miss of even a few hundred million dollars could move the shares after hours.

Market previews have also stressed the contrast with Apple's rivals. While Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft and others have committed hundreds of billions of dollars to data centres and artificial intelligence infrastructure, Apple has kept its capital spending comparatively modest, a stance that has shielded it from the sharpest swings in AI-related stocks. At the same time, Apple is now suing OpenAI over alleged trade-secret theft, and rivals including OpenAI are developing devices aimed at displacing the iPhone as the central device in people's lives, according to Reuters.

Investors have additionally noted Apple's positioning against Meta's Muse agent, which took App Store rankings by storm in recent weeks. How Ternus talks about Apple's own artificial intelligence offerings, and the revamped Siri in particular, will be one of the most closely watched parts of the call.

Why It Matters

Apple is the largest company in the US stock market, and its report is a bellwether for consumer spending, for the smartphone cycle and for the broader technology sector. A cautious holiday outlook would reinforce worries that the AI spending boom is squeezing margins across hardware, while a confident forecast would suggest that premium device demand is holding up despite high prices and an uncertain economy.

The timing amplifies the effect. The report lands on the eve of the midterm elections, with polls pointing to a strong night for Democrats and with early voting already at record levels. Markets have been volatile for weeks, and a major earnings report from the world's most valuable company can set the tone for the rest of the week, ahead of Friday's jobs report.

For consumers, the stakes are more concrete: the availability and pricing of the iPhone 18 Pro line, the first foldable iPhone and Apple's new laptops and home hub through the holiday season will all be shaped, in part, by what the company says on Monday about supply, memory costs and demand.

What Happens Next

Apple releases its results after the 4 p.m. Eastern close on Monday, followed by the earnings call hosted by Ternus. Palantir reports the same evening, and the market's reaction will be visible in after-hours trading before Tuesday's election results take over the news cycle.

Investors will then turn to the December-quarter guidance and to any disclosure about iPhone Duo demand. If management signals that memory costs are easing, or that holiday supply is secure, the shares could recover ground lost in Friday's sell-off. If guidance disappoints, Apple could join the wider technology pullback that has already knocked the Nasdaq about 8 percent below its recent high.

Friday's October jobs report, due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, will be the next major data point, with economists polled by Dow Jones projecting a gain of 55,000 jobs. Together, the earnings, the election and the jobs data will decide whether this week's volatility was a correction or the start of something longer.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does Apple report its Q4 2026 earnings? After the US market closes on Monday, November 2, 2026, with the earnings call following the release.

What revenue and profit does Wall Street expect? Revenue of about $113.4 billion, earnings per share of roughly $2 and net profit of about $29.04 billion, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters.

How much iPhone 18 Pro sales are included in the quarter? Only about nine days, because the phones went on sale on September 18 and the quarter ended in late September.

Who is Apple's new CEO? John Ternus, who succeeded Tim Cook on September 1, 2026, and hosts his first earnings call on Monday.

Why are memory-chip costs important? Surging memory prices are expected to drag Apple's profit growth to its weakest in six quarters, and Cook previously called the surge a "100-year flood."

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