Apple forecasts its biggest revenue quarter ever despite supply constraints

During today’s earnings call following its fiscal Q4 2026 report, Apple said it expects its December quarter “to be the best quarter for revenue in the history of the company.” Here are the details.

Apple on track for biggest quarter ever

Apple today reported its fiscal Q4 2026 results, with revenue climbing 12% year over year to $114.5 billion and net profit reaching $30.71 billion. This marked September-quarter records on both fronts, despite supply constraints on iPhone, Mac, and iPad, as well as rising memory costs.

During the conference call following the earnings report, Apple acknowledged that higher memory costs were putting pressure on its profit margins, while also warning of limited supply-chain flexibility, stronger-than-expected demand for Mac and iPad, and ongoing shortages of the new iPhone Duo.

Still, Apple CFO Kevan Parekh was very clear about what the company expects from the next fiscal quarter, which includes the holiday shopping season:

We expect our December quarter total company revenue to grow between 7 and 10% year over year, which reflects our best view of constrained supply. We expect this to be the best quarter for revenue in the history of the company.

If this pans out, Apple’s fiscal Q1 2027 revenue should fall between $153.82 billion and $158.13 billion, adding between $10 billion and $14.4 billion in revenue compared to the year-ago quarter.

Beyond revenue, Parekh also shared Apple’s expectations for several other financial metrics during the December quarter:

- Services revenue: 8% to 9% year-over-year growth

- Gross margin: between 45% and 46%

- Operating expenses: between $20.4 billion and $20.8 billion

- Other income and expense (OI&E): approximately $300 million

- Effective tax rate: approximately 17%

Parekh noted that “third-party licensing and foreign exchange” will be the primary headwinds for the Services revenue, while higher memory costs and “some costs related to the ramp of Siri AI” are expected to put further pressure on the company’s gross margins.

Finally, Apple cautioned that its outlook “assumes that global tariff rates, policies, and their application remain in effect as of this call, and the global macroeconomic outlook does not worsen from today.“

For the full breakdown of Apple’s Q4 2026 results, follow this link.