Apple forecasts holiday growth as memory costs squeeze margins

Apple expects revenue to grow 7%–10% from a year earlier in the December quarter, but rising memory prices and spending tied to Siri’s AI rollout are set to weigh on profitability, according to the company’s earnings-call guidance and CNBC’s reporting.

Higher memory costs pressure margins

Apple forecast a gross margin of 45%–46% for the holiday quarter. CNBC reported that CFO Kevan Parekh attributed the expected decline primarily to higher memory costs and expenses linked to the Siri AI rollout.

CEO John Ternus said, “What we're seeing with memory pricing right now is unprecedented,” and indicated that memory prices were still rising beyond December.

Apple also expects memory-supply constraints to affect Mac and iPad availability, according to a published transcript of its earnings call. The company projected 8%–9% year-over-year Services revenue growth for the December quarter.

A record quarter provides the backdrop

Apple reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $114.5 billion, up 12% from a year earlier, for the period ended September 26. The company said the quarter set records for total revenue, iPhone revenue and earnings per share, while Services reached a new high. Full-year revenue reached $478.8 billion, according to its SEC-filed results.

September-quarter gross margin was 47.9%, although Apple said tariff refunds added about one percentage point. Those refunds make a direct comparison with the holiday-quarter margin forecast less straightforward.

The outlook combines continued sales growth with a lower expected gross margin. It remains guidance rather than a guaranteed result: demand, currency movements, tariffs and component availability could still change the outcome.

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