Apple expects to generate up to $158.13 billion in revenue during the final three months of 2026, potentially making it the highest-revenue quarter in the company’s history.
During its November 2 earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh said Apple expects record sales during the upcoming holiday season, despite rising component prices, supply shortages, and uncertain economic conditions.
The company forecasts revenue between $153.82 billion and $158.13 billion for the December quarter, representing an increase of approximately $10 billion to $14.4 billion compared with the same period last year.
The forecast follows Apple’s record September-quarter revenue of $114.5 billion, which increased 12% year over year.
Apple Expects Its Biggest Quarter Ever
Apple expects its total revenue to increase between 7% and 10% during the October-to-December period compared with the previous year.
The company believes strong demand for its latest products will help drive sales during the holiday shopping season.
Its Services business is also expected to contribute to the increase, with revenue projected to grow between 8% and 9% year over year.
However, Apple acknowledged that global economic conditions and currency exchange fluctuations could affect its performance.
The company also warned that supply constraints may prevent it from meeting all customer demand.
iPhone Duo and Mac Demand Creates Supply Shortages
Apple is facing inventory shortages after demand for several of its products exceeded expectations.
The company reported stronger-than-anticipated demand for its Mac and iPad lineups, along with the newly launched iPhone Duo.
As a result, Apple is struggling to maintain sufficient inventory of certain devices.
These shortages could limit sales during the holiday quarter, particularly if the company cannot increase supplies quickly enough to meet demand.
Apple expects some of these constraints to continue through December.
Rising RAM Prices Could Hurt Apple’s Profit Margins
Although Apple expects record revenue, rising component costs could affect its profitability. The company identified increasing memory prices as a major challenge, alongside ongoing supply chain constraints.
Higher RAM costs could make manufacturing iPhones, Macs, and other devices more expensive. Apple expects its gross margin to fall between 45% and 46% during the December quarter.
This would be lower than the 47.9% gross margin reported for the September quarter. The company also expects operating expenses of between $20.4 billion and $20.8 billion.
These projections reflect the financial pressure Apple faces despite its expectations of higher sales.
Apple Recently Reported Record Financial Results
Apple’s latest forecast follows a record-breaking fiscal fourth quarter, which ended in September 2026.
During that period, the company generated $114.5 billion in revenue, up 12% from the previous year. Its earnings per share increased 14% to $2.10, while gross margin reached 47.9%.
The company also reported record iPhone sales for the September quarter and an all-time high in Services revenue.
For the full fiscal year 2026, Apple generated approximately $479 billion in revenue.
The company now expects the holiday quarter to exceed its previous quarterly revenue records, although the final results will depend on product availability, component costs, currency movements, and customer demand.
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