Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2026 second quarter ended March 28, 2026.
The company reported earnings before certain costs such as stock compensation of $2.01 per share, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $1.95 per share.
Revenue for the quarter rose 17% from a year ago, to $111.18 billion, ahead of the $109.66 billion target. All told, its net income for the quarter rose to $29.58 billion, from $24.74 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Apple’s services business delivered $30.98 billion in revenue during the quarter, up 16% from the previous year. The unit generates revenue from the sale of subscriptions to entertainment services, App Store sales, Apple Pay, iCloud, AppleCare and other services.
The growth in services revenue is the main driving force behind Apple’s higher profit margins, which reached 49.3% in the quarter, up from 48.2% in the previous quarter.
“Today Apple is proud to report our best March quarter ever, with revenue of $111.2 billion and double-digit growth across every geographic segment,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.
“iPhone achieved a March quarter revenue record, fueled by such extraordinary demand for the iPhone 17 lineup. During the quarter, Services achieved yet another all-time record, and we were excited to introduce remarkable new products to our strongest lineup ever. That included the addition of the iPhone 17e and the M4-powered iPad Air, along with the launch of MacBook Neo, which is captivating customers all around the world.”
Sales in the Greater China region rose 28%, to $20.5 billion, in the quarter. The region is the company’s third-largest, trailing the Americas and Europe.
Apple’s research and development costs grew at a much faster clip than its revenue, however, reaching $11.42 billion in the quarter, up from $8.55 billion a year earlier.
Cook said iPhone sales were held back in the quarter by supply constraints for the advanced processor chips that form the brains of the device.
The iPhone 17 family’s chips are made on a variant of the same Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co chip manufacturing technology as many leading AI chips.
“The demand was off the charts. And there’s just a little less flexibility in the supply chain at the moment for getting more parts,”
The iPhone 17 family of devices, plus the iPhone Air, was spearheaded by incoming chief executive John Ternus, who will take over from Cook in September.
Under Ternus, Pro models gained more features but also a higher price tag, while entry-level models such as the 17e and base model iPhone 17 held prices steady relative to their storage capacity.
Another product masterminded by Ternus was the MacBook Neo, which analysts believe could help Apple crack a new $20 billion market for lower-priced laptops.
Apple said Mac sales, which included several weeks of Neo sales, were $8.4b, compared with estimates of $8.02b.
Apple chief financial officer Kevan Parekh said the company would no longer aim to bring its net cash – its cash minus debt – to a net neutral position.
“Our strong business performance during the March quarter generated over $28 billion in operating cash flow and drove new March quarter records for both operating cash flow and EPS,”
“Continued strong customer demand for our products and services once again helped us achieve a new all-time high for our installed base of active devices across all major product categories and geographic segments.”
Apple’s board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.27 per share of the Company’s common stock, an increase of 4 percent. The dividend is payable on May 14, 2026, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 11, 2026.
The board of directors has also authorised an additional program to repurchase up to $100 billion of the Company’s common stock.
Apple executives said they expect sales growth of 14 percent to 17 percent in the current fiscal third quarter, which was above Wall Street estimates of 9.5 percent growth to US$102.93 billion, according to data from LSEG.
