Apple revenue rises 12% to $114.5 billion; 1 point of its margin is tariff refunds

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $114.5 billion, up 12% from a year earlier, in its results release for the quarter ended September 26. Gross margin was 47.9%, including a lift of about 1 percentage point from tariff refunds.

Revenue up 12%, with a one-off lift in the margin

Apple said revenue for the September quarter rose 12% year over year to $114.5 billion. The year-earlier quarter's revenue was $102.5 billion, up 8%, according to Apple's release for that period. The company described the new figure as a September-quarter record, with iPhone also at a September-quarter record and Services at an all-time high.

Diluted earnings per share were $2.10, up 14% from a year earlier, and included a $0.05 benefit from tariff refunds. Gross margin of 47.9% included "a favorable impact of approximately 1 percentage point from tariff refunds," so the margin without the refunds was about 46.9% (computed from Apple's figures).

For the full fiscal year 2026, Apple's chief financial officer, Kevan Parekh, said the company recorded "all-time record revenue of $479 billion and double-digit EPS growth."

The cash that came in went back out

Apple generated $28 billion in operating cash flow in the quarter and returned $28 billion to shareholders, Parekh said. The two figures are the same, so the quarter's returns equaled its operating cash flow.

The board also declared a cash dividend of $0.27 per share, payable on November 16, 2026, to shareholders of record on November 12, 2026.

Parekh said the installed base of active devices "reached a new all-time high across all major product categories and geographic segments," which he tied to customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The CEO points to the lineup for the holiday quarter

John Ternus, Apple's CEO, said the company was "closing the year with our most ambitious lineup yet," naming the iPhone Duo, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, new hardware for the home, Touch on Mac and a new version of Siri.

Apple's release gives no segment revenue, outlook or margin guidance. Those items are covered on the company's conference call, which began at 2:00 p.m. PT on November 2, and in the consolidated financial statements attached to the release.

A margin helped by refunds is the number we would follow

We think the headline is the 12% revenue growth, but the quality of the quarter sits in the margin. About a point of the 47.9% came from tariff refunds, which are a one-time credit rather than pricing power, and a business judged on whether its margins survive is judged on the figure without them.

The opportunity is that growth of 12% on a larger installed base gives Apple room to keep funding both its launches and its payouts from cash it generates. The threat is that returning all $28 billion of operating cash flow leaves less slack if component or tariff costs rise. We expect the next reading to be clearer if the margin guidance Apple gives on its call holds without further refunds, and our view would change if the margin without refunds falls below the year-earlier level.

The view in this final section is FinanceInTime's editorial opinion, for information only. It is not investment, tax, legal or other advice, and it does not take your circumstances into account. Forecasts are uncertain and past results do not guarantee future ones.