Apple recently released a stunningly strong financial report. For the third fiscal quarter of 2026 (March 28 to June 27), the company announced a quarterly revenue of $109.417 billion, a year-over-year increase of 16.36%; net profit reached $29.789 billion, up 27.12%; and the gross margin surpassed 50%. In the official press release, CEO Tim Cook described it as a "new June quarter record." So why did Apple's stock price plummet by 7.35% in response?

For the better part of the last year, the consumer electronics industry has been grappling with rising costs for memory, chips, and panels, forcing price increases on end products. In the Android camp, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro now costs over $300 per unit, and the Dimensity 9600 Pro is priced at $216. With LPDDR6 memory and UFS 5.0 flash storage also being expensive, the cost of a flagship phone's three core components has soared to $600. Meanwhile, Apple already increased the prices of most of its hardware in June, with the iPhone 17 series being a temporary exception. The problem is, when we see a financial report boasting a 50% gross margin and profit growth nearly double its revenue growth, the narrative of "having to raise prices" becomes less convincing. Apple isn't raising prices to survive; it's raising them to earn even more than it already is.

Costs Are Rising, But Apple's Profits Are Soaring Higher

This quarter, Apple's revenue grew by 16.36%, but its net profit surged by 27.12%, making profit growth 1.66 times faster than revenue growth. The gross margin leaped from 46.49% last year to 50.06%. For comparison, Samsung's mobile business operates on a 35-40% gross margin, while Xiaomi's is only 12-15%. According to the official report, the product gross margin was approximately 40%, while the services gross margin was a staggering 75.6%. With services now accounting for 28% of total revenue, this high-profit segment provides a substantial buffer against rising hardware costs. Even more telling, the product gross margin itself increased by 5.5 percentage points from 34.5% last year, despite industry-wide cost hikes, partly driven by strong sales of higher-margin iPhone 17 Pro models.

iPhone and Mac Drive Growth, But Not All Is Rosy

A closer look at the data reveals that iPhone and Mac were the primary engines of growth this quarter. iPhone revenue hit $54.252 billion, a 21.69% increase, while Mac revenue grew by an impressive 28.66% to $10.352 billion. The iPhone 17 series continued its strong performance late into its product cycle, benefiting from a large wave of users upgrading from the iPhone 12 and 13 generations. The Mac's growth capitalized on a broader PC market recovery, with the M4 chip's balance of performance and AI efficiency proving popular. However, other categories faltered: iPad revenue declined by 5.93%, and the Wearables, Home, and Accessories segment saw meager growth of 6.47%. In Greater China, revenue grew by 22.43% to $18.816 billion, but this was more of a recovery to 2023 levels after a period of weakness, and intense competition from rivals like Huawei's upcoming Mate 80 series remains a significant threat.

The Real Test Awaits: Price Hike Impact Looms in Autumn and Winter

Crucially, this financial report only covers the period up to June 27. The full impact of Apple's recent hardware price hikes and rumored further increases for the next generation of products will not be felt until the autumn and winter seasons. The second half of the year presents far greater challenges. The upcoming iPhone 18 launch may be incomplete, with only the Pro models expected this fall, potentially delaying the volume-selling standard model. Meanwhile, cost pressures are set to intensify, with reports of rising prices for TSMC's N2P wafers and LPDDR6 memory. This, combined with a leadership transition as Tim Cook departs, creates significant uncertainty.

（Source: X）