Mundo Research
Apple · September 2026 earnings
Apple sold more than a year earlier. Revenue grew 12% in its September quarter compared with the same period last year.
Higher sales show growth. Gross margin shows what remains after direct costs, before other expenses. Tariff refunds contributed to the margin, which is not the same as net profit.
Quarterly revenue: US$114.5 billion.
Apple’s release attributes approximately 1 percentage point of gross margin to tariff refunds.
SEC filing: 10-K · · Period ended
Reported fiscal-year net income: US$132,175 million · Sep 28, 2025 – Sep 26, 2026
EDGAR checked on
Historical sample
Apple: historical editorial sample with its own date. It is not presented as the current report.
Understand how Apple makes money, what drove its results, and which questions remain. Explore product and regional sales, margins, cash, debt, and the evidence that could change the reading.
Apple, in depth
Historical case · Evidence cutoff:
US$109.4 billion · FY2026 Q3. iPhone, Mac, and Services drove sales. Tariff refunds also supported the margin.
FY2026 Q3 · Period ended:
A public reading with figures, reasoning, and original documents. Each section distinguishes results, calculations, and open questions.
01 · The result and its quality
The improvement has two drivers: higher sales and higher reported profitability. iPhone contributes most of the revenue increase, while Services generates a larger share of gross profit than of revenue. But the margin includes tariff refunds, iPad is declining, and component pressure continues. The question is how much Apple can sustain when that benefit is absent.
Source 1 Source 2Up 16% year over year; fiscal quarter ended June 27, 2026.
+16.4% year over year10-Q: $109,417 M. FY2026 Q3 · three months ended June 27. The release rounds this to $109.4 billion; the 10-Q provides the exact amount.
Source 2FY2026 Q3 · three months ended June 27. After expenses and taxes; not the same as cash collected.
Source 2FY2026 Q3 · three months ended June 27. After research, development, and other operating expenses, before net other income and taxes.
Source 2FY2026 Q3 · three months ended June 27. Compared with 40.1% for Products. Gross margin excludes operating expenses and taxes.
Source 2To assess whether the improvement can last, separate sales growth from the refund benefit to margins.
In March, Mac grew 5.7% year over year and Services grew 16.3%. In June, the rates are 28.7% and 12.1%. Each calculation uses its own comparable prior-year quarter: this shows a change in pace, not March-to-June growth.
Source 3 Source 2Reported margin moves from 49.3% in March to 50.1% in June. Subtracting the roughly 2 percentage points attributed to refunds puts June near 48.1%. This calculation helps frame the comparison; it does not remove all differences in mix, costs, or seasonality.
Source 3 Source 2 Source 1The June 10-Q warns that component shortages and rising costs may intensify. Strong quarterly sales do not establish that enough inventory will be available next quarter. Demand, availability, and the cost of producing each device need to be considered together.
Source 202 · Business model
Apple combines devices, software, and services around a base of devices in use. Selling an iPhone or Mac generates hardware revenue; the user may then pay for storage, content, or apps. Advertising, commissions, and other services also monetize that relationship. This combination can generate repeat revenue without a new device purchase each time, but it does not make all Services revenue a subscription. Understanding the business requires watching both device replacement and spending and activity across its user base.
iPhone sales grew 22%, Mac 29%, and Services 12% from the same quarter a year earlier. Apple attributes those increases to Pro models, laptops, and advertising and cloud services, respectively.
Source 1 Source 2Up 22% year over year, primarily driven by Pro models, according to the 10-Q.
Source 2Up 12% year over year, primarily driven by advertising and cloud services, according to the 10-Q.
Source 2On mobile, scroll the table to compare every column.
| Business | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change | Current share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhoneSource 2 | 54,252 | 44,582 | +21.7% | 49.6% |
| MacSource 2 | 10,352 | 8,046 | +28.7% | 9.5% |
| iPadSource 2 | 6,191 | 6,581 | -5.9% | 5.7% |
| Wearables, Home and AccessoriesSource 2 | 7,883 | 7,404 | +6.5% | 7.2% |
| ServicesSource 2 | 30,739 | 27,423 | +12.1% | 28.1% |
| Apple totalSource 2 | 109,417 | 94,036 | +16.4% | 100.0% |
Year-over-year change and share of total revenue are calculated from reported figures. Rounding may prevent percentages from adding to exactly 100%.
Pro models drove growth. Nearly half of sales still come from iPhone, making its replacement cycle central to the business.
Source 2Laptops drove growth. Mac is growing faster than the company overall, but from a much smaller revenue base than iPhone.
Source 2Lower iPad mini and iPad Air sales. This declining category shows that strength was not uniform across the portfolio.
Source 2Accessories and wearables improved. Apple does not disclose individual Watch, AirPods, or Vision Pro revenue here.
Source 2Advertising and cloud services drove growth. The category contains several revenue sources; not all are subscriptions.
Source 203 · Geographic exposure
Comparing regions helps distinguish overall growth from dependence on a particular market. Revenue by region does not tell us where each product is manufactured.
On mobile, scroll the table to compare every column.
| Region | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change | Current share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AmericasSource 2 | 45,781 | 41,198 | +11.1% | 41.8% |
| EuropeSource 2 | 29,395 | 24,014 | +22.4% | 26.9% |
| Greater ChinaSource 2 | 18,816 | 15,369 | +22.4% | 17.2% |
| JapanSource 2 | 6,554 | 5,782 | +13.4% | 6.0% |
| Rest of Asia PacificSource 2 | 8,871 | 7,673 | +15.6% | 8.1% |
| Apple totalSource 2 | 109,417 | 94,036 | +16.4% | 100.0% |
Year-over-year change and share of total revenue are calculated from reported figures. Rounding may prevent percentages from adding to exactly 100%.
04 · Profitability
Refunds reduce Products cost of sales. They increase profit without representing additional revenue. Separating them helps assess the quality of improvement, but does not establish the future margin.
June-quarter GAAP figure.
Source 2Approximate benefit disclosed by Apple.
Source 1Mundo calculation: 50.1% less approximately 2 percentage points; not another GAAP figure.
Source 1Mundo calculation: $2.02 − $0.11; does not remove other earnings factors.
Source 1A percentage point measures the difference between two percentages. Moving from 46.5% to 50.1% is 3.6 percentage points, not 3.6% growth. Even after this approximate subtraction, June exceeds the 46.5% reported a year earlier; that does not establish that all of the difference is recurring.
05 · Cash and balance sheet
Flows: nine months · Balances: June 27, 2026
Accounting profit and cash are different. Operating cash flow includes receipts, payments, and working-capital changes; subtracting fixed-asset investment gives a simple free-cash-flow measure. Repurchases and dividends are subsequent uses of cash. Cash, investments, and debt are balances at a point in time, not quarterly revenue.
Nine months ended June 27, 2026. Includes working capital and cash taxes of $26,555 M versus $37,332 M a year earlier. Its increase is not the same as recurring earnings growth; this is not the standalone quarter.
Reported figureSource 2Nine months ended June 27, 2026. Payments for property, plant, and equipment; not all research and development spending.
Reported figureSource 2Nine months ended June 27, 2026. Mundo calculation: 116,996 − 6,799 = 110,197 M; non-GAAP measure, before dividends and repurchases.
Editorial calculationSource 2Balance at June 27, 2026; compared with September 27, 2025. Cash and equivalents plus current and non-current marketable securities.
Editorial calculationSource 2Balance at June 27, 2026; compared with September 27, 2025. Commercial paper plus current and non-current term debt; not total liabilities.
Editorial calculationSource 2Balance at June 27, 2026; compared with September 27, 2025. Mundo calculation: 146,517 − 84,344 = 62,173 M; does not deduct the business’s other obligations.
Editorial calculationSource 2Nine months ended June 27, 2026. May reduce the share count; it does not create revenue or guarantee shareholder returns.
Reported figureSource 2Nine months ended June 27, 2026. Cash outflow for the period; future dividends require board approval.
Reported figureSource 206 · Challenge the reading
Editorial interpretation grounded in the cited documents. These conditions help reassess the thesis; they do not predict the share price.
iPhone adds $9,670 M year over year: approximately 62.9% of the total revenue increase, calculated by Mundo. Saying Apple is growing is incomplete; this figure shows how much of the improvement depends on a single product family.
Source 2With 28.1% of revenue, Services contributes 42.4% of gross profit, calculated by Mundo. Its 75.6% gross margin exceeds Products’ 40.1%, but is unchanged from a year earlier. Its revenue share falls from 29.2%: a larger Services mix does not explain this quarter’s total margin improvement.
Source 2Nine-month operating cash flow exceeds fixed-asset investment, and cash and marketable securities exceed the carrying amount of financial debt. This supports operations and capital returns; it does not mean all of that money is free of commitments.
Source 2Refunds explain approximately 2 percentage points of margin. Extrapolating the full number into future quarters carries forward a benefit that did not come from selling more. Memory costs, device mix, and pricing may change subsequent results.
Source 1 Source 2iPad declines 5.9% year over year, and Services grows more slowly than in the March quarter relative to each quarter’s prior-year comparison. A company-wide conclusion needs to acknowledge these differences and iPhone’s exposure to the replacement cycle.
Source 3 Source 2Net income rises 27.1% and EPS 28.7%, calculated from reported figures. The diluted weighted-average share count falls approximately 1.6%. A lower share count supports EPS, but does not itself demonstrate stronger product demand.
Source 207 · Risks and invalidation
Apple warns of shortages and higher component costs, including memory. Monitor their effect on sales and margins.
Shortages of advanced semiconductors, NAND, and DRAM can limit available units and raise device costs. Higher prices may protect margin while also reducing demand.
Reassessment signal: Compare sales, availability, and Products margin in the next results; one number cannot answer all three questions.
Source 2Greater China represents 17.2% of revenue. Its 22.4% year-over-year increase includes a favorable currency effect alongside iPhone. Dollar revenue does not isolate units, pricing, or local competition.
Reassessment signal: Review regional growth and commentary on currency and demand; do not attribute the entire increase to market-share gains.
Source 2Proceedings described in the 10-Q could change distribution, commissions, or compliance costs. The financial effect must be checked in reported results; an open case is not the same as a realized loss.
Reassessment signal: Read subsequent decisions and Apple disclosures, then compare them with Services revenue and margin.
Source 2Refunds reduce this period’s cost of sales while trade rules can change again. Neither the current relief nor its size should be treated as a permanent improvement.
Reassessment signal: Separate new tariff effects from changes in mix, pricing, and component costs.
Source 1 Source 2Introducing new features does not demonstrate incremental revenue or a replacement cycle. This sample has no separately reported revenue attributable to Siri AI or Apple Intelligence.
Reassessment signal: Look for verifiable adoption and financial effects without adding assumed AI revenue to reported results.
Source 1 Source 208 · Business and price
This case supports analysis of results, but cannot establish whether the shares are cheap or expensive today. It includes no current quote, current multiples, or consensus estimates. Strong growth can coexist with demanding expectations in the share price. Valuing AAPL requires a consistent date for price, earnings, debt, and assumptions; mechanically multiplying this quarter’s EPS by four is also inappropriate because of seasonality and the refund effect.
09 · Monitoring the thesis
To sustain this favorable reading, iPhone demand would need to hold, Services would need to maintain profitable activity, and cash would need to support earnings. Checking those conditions requires subsequent results, not simply repeating June-quarter records.
Source 2Persistent deterioration in iPhone sales alongside Products margin pressure, or weaker Services growth and profitability, would weaken the thesis. If cash also diverges from earnings, working capital and commitments need review. These are editorial monitoring conditions, not predictions.
Source 2Compare the next earnings release and regulatory filing with this baseline: five revenue categories, Greater China, margins with and without identified effects, and cumulative cash flow. This case retains its July 31, 2026 cutoff; it does not present a future earnings date as confirmed or claim to incorporate later events.
Source 1 Source 210 · Information gaps
Category revenue does not fully separate units sold, average price, and model mix. Higher iPhone revenue alone does not establish that more units were sold.
Source 2The Services total does not break out revenue or profit for each subscription, app, advertising business, or agreement here. Its aggregate margin should not be assigned to an individual service.
Source 2This evidence cannot establish how much demand will repeat, how long component cost pressure will persist, or what AI benefits will reach reported results. Those questions remain open and require new evidence.
Source 1 Source 211 · Understand the terminology
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