Apple CEO John Ternus warned that memory pricing is "unprecedented" and will continue rising through the December quarter and beyond. The company offset earlier increases using stockpiled inventory and component savings, but expects gross margin to fall from 47.9% to 45–46% in Q4 due to memory and AI costs. Apple raised prices on iPads, Macs, and iPhones in June and September. When asked about further hikes, COO Sabih Khan avoided a direct answer, while CFO Kevan Parekh called prior increases "reluctant" and emphasized balancing margin impacts. Inventory surged to $14.5 billion, with $33 billion in new manufacturing obligations. Mac and iPad supply may be constrained in December.
Apple is grappling with soaring memory costs, which Ternus described as "unprecedented." The firm used lower-priced stockpiles and non-memory component savings to offset September’s impact, but warned December will be worse. Inventory more than doubled year-over-year to $14.5 billion, signaling aggressive pre-buying. Manufacturing obligations rose by $33 billion in the September quarter. Gross margin is projected to drop to 45–46% in Q4, driven by memory and Siri AI expenses. Supply constraints for Macs and iPads are expected. On future price hikes, Khan dodged a direct response, while Parekh stressed careful evaluation of short- and long-term margin effects.
Source: MacRumors · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing