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Apple generated more revenue in its third fiscal quarter than in any previous June quarter. Earnings per share jumped 29 percent, and the gross margin climbed to 50.1 percent, significantly exceeding the company's own forecast. However, a substantial portion of this increase did not stem from ongoing business operations.
Apple has released its results for the third fiscal quarter, which ended on June 27, 2026. Revenue came in at $109.4 billion, up 16 percent from the same period last year, while net income reached $29.8 billion. Both figures fall within the range the company itself issued in May, when it projected double-digit growth of 14 to 17 percent. The results also exceeded the consensus analyst estimate of approximately $108.9 billion in revenue and $1.89 in earnings per share. The board of directors will distribute a dividend of $0.27 per share, payable on August 13 to all shareholders listed on the stock register as of August 10.
The individual categories
Apple reports record figures for iPhone, Mac and services for the quarter – each compared to a third fiscal quarter.
| Segment | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone | 54.25 billion $ | 44.58 billion $ | +21,7 % |
| Mac | 10.35 billion $ | 8.05 billion $ | +28,7 % |
| iPad | 6.19 billion $ | 6.58 billion $ | -5.9 % |
| Wearables, Home and Accessories | 7.88 billion $ | 7.40 billion $ | +6,5 % |
| Services | 30.74 billion $ | 27.42 billion $ | +12,1 % |
| Total | 109.42 billion $ | 94.04 billion $ | +16,4 % |
The iPhone remains the foundation of the company's revenue, accounting for nearly 50 percent. However, the Mac saw the strongest percentage growth, increasing by almost 29 percent – an effect of the M5 models introduced in the spring and the more affordable MacBook Neo, which has brought Apple into a previously unoccupied price segment.
The iPad is the only product line in the red. Apple cites the difficulty of comparing it to the same quarter last year, when the iPad with the A16 chip was launched, as the reason for the decline of almost 6 percent. Nevertheless, the installed base reached a new record high, and more than half of the buyers purchased an iPad for the first time during the quarter.
The development in the services sector is noteworthy. At 12.1 percent, the group's highest-margin division is growing more slowly than the overall business and significantly slower than in the previous quarter, which showed an increase of over 16 percent. In absolute terms, services revenue is even slightly below the figure for the March quarter.
Europe is growing twice as fast as the home region
The regional distribution of growth varies. Europe – which Apple defines as including the EU, Switzerland, the UK, India, the Middle East, and Africa – reached $29.4 billion, representing a growth of 22.4 percent. The Americas region, in contrast, grew by only 11.1 percent over the same period.
| Region | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| America | 45.78 billion $ | 41.20 billion $ | +11,1 % |
| Europe | 29.39 billion $ | 24.01 billion $ | +22,4 % |
| Greater China | 18.82 billion $ | 15.37 billion $ | +22,4 % |
| Japan | 6.55 billion $ | 5.78 billion $ | +13,4 % |
| Rest of Asia-Pacific region | 8.87 billion $ | 7.67 billion $ | +15,6 % |
Europe thus contributes 26.9 percent of the group's revenue and is growing at the same percentage rate as Greater China, the region usually considered Apple's growth engine. Part of this increase is likely attributable to the price hikes Apple implemented in June for Macs, iPads, and the Vision Pro – in Germany, the MacBook Neo rose from €699 to €799. The quarter ended on June 27, meaning these prices only apply for a few days; the full effect will only become apparent in the current quarter.
Why the profit jump is smaller than it looks
The gross margin of 50.1 percent is significantly higher than Apple's own forecast of 47.5 to 48.5 percent. Apple itself states in its press release that approximately 2 percentage points of this figure are attributable to customs refunds. Excluding this item, the remaining margin is around 48.1 percent – exactly within the projected range.
The same applies to earnings per share. According to Apple, of the $2.02, $0.11 came from the same refunds. Adjusted, this results in $1.91 compared to a consensus estimate of $1.89. The much-discussed 29 percent year-over-year profit jump thus shrinks to an operating result that just barely meets expectations, rather than exceeding them.
For the coming quarters, this is the more relevant figure. Customs refunds are a one-off, politically driven item, while the cost side points in the opposite direction: Memory prices have been rising for months, and Apple has already passed this pressure on to end-customer prices. On the procurement side, Qualcomm recently reported increased costs along its entire supply chain.
One indication of this can be found in the balance sheet: Inventories have almost doubled, rising from $5.7 billion at the end of the fiscal year in September to $11.1 billion. A company that holds this volume of components is not expecting a rapid improvement in availability.
Research spending is growing twice as fast as revenue
Operating expenses totaled $19.1 billion, placing them at the upper end of the company's own forecast of $18.8 billion to $19.1 billion. The distribution is striking: Research and development spending jumped 32.3 percent to $11.7 billion, while sales and administration increased by only 10.5 percent.
This means the research budget is growing twice as fast as revenue. In the first nine months of the fiscal year, Apple invested $34 billion in research, compared to $25.7 billion in the same period last year. The development of the new AI infrastructure behind Siri AI and the parallel development of several chip generations are directly reflected in this growth.
Siri AI is shaping the quarter – the gap remains in the EU
In his quarterly statement, Tim Cook focuses on WWDC26 and, in addition to child safety features, explicitly mentions Siri AI as a key innovation. For readers in Germany and Austria, this statement has a catch: Siri AI remains unavailable on iPhones and iPads in the European Union because the Digital Markets Act regulations conflict with the assistant's architecture. Switzerland is neither in the EU nor the EEA and is not affected by this restriction – Siri AI works there on the same devices.
The record European sales are therefore being generated in a region where a significant portion of the advertised software innovations are not even available. The overview of EU restrictions within the Apple ecosystem details which other features are missing.
Cook's last conference call is still pending
The press release traditionally does not include an outlook for the current quarter. Apple will provide this in the conference call with analysts, which begins at 11 p.m. German time and will be led by Tim Cook and CFO Kevan Parekh. It will be Cook's last appearance in this role before John Ternus takes over as CEO on September 1.
The crucial factor there will be less the sales forecast for the Christmas quarter than the statement regarding the gross margin. This shows how significantly storage costs impact a quarter without customs refunds. (Image: Shutterstock / Who is Danny)
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