---
title: Apple Posts Its Best Year Ever in John Ternus's First Results as Chief Executive
description: Apple's revenue rose 12 percent to $114.5 billion in the September quarter, capping a record $479 billion year in John Ternus's first results as CEO.
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-11-03T11:00:33.005Z
updated: 2026-11-03T11:00:33.040Z
canonical: https://www.richmanmagazine.com/article/apple-results-ternus-record-quarter
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/unsplash-p25-u2tplda.webp
categories: Business
content_type: News
region: United States
publication: Rich Man Magazine
---

Apple reported record revenue of $114.5 billion for the three months to 26th September, up 12 percent on a year earlier, in the first set of results under chief executive John Ternus. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected $113.4 billion. The quarter closed a financial year in which revenue reached an all-time high of $479 billion.

Ternus, who ran Apple's hardware engineering before he took over from Tim Cook on 1st September, described the quarter as 'capping off our best fiscal year ever'. iPhone sales set a record for a September quarter, and Services, the division that includes the App Store, iCloud and Apple Music, reached an all-time high.

## Apple's Profit and Tariff Refunds

Net profit rose to $30.71 billion, or $2.10 a share, from $27.47 billion, or $1.85 a share, a year earlier, the Associated Press reported. Analysts had expected $1.99 a share. Five cents of the earnings came from tariff refunds, which also added about one percentage point to a gross margin of 47.9 percent.

## Memory Chip Costs and the December Quarter

Apple expects its gross margin to fall to between 45 and 46 percent in the December quarter, citing higher memory chip costs and spending on the release of its Siri AI. Apple shares closed 1.8 percent lower at $338.32 on Monday and fell a further 2.6 percent to $329.60 during the call with analysts, according to the AP.

Jacob Bourne, an analyst at Emarketer, pointed to strong growth in China as a sign of Apple's resilience, and said its 'tepid approach' to spending on AI infrastructure helps preserve its cash flow.

## The iPhone 18 Pro and the Folding iPhone Duo

Ternus used Apple's statement to point to what comes next, calling the [folding iPhone Duo](https://www.richmanmagazine.com/article/iphone-ultra-staggered-us-first-rollout-report) the most transformational iPhone since the original. The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max went on sale in the final days of the quarter, and the Duo arrived after it closed, so the December results will be the first to show what the new phones are selling.