# Apple Forecasts 45% to 46% December-Quarter Margin as Memory Costs Rise

By John Kim

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/47588
Published: 2026-11-03T11:15:56.000Z
Updated: 2026-11-03T11:15:56.000Z
Section: Business

> The outlook followed a 47.9% fiscal fourth-quarter gross margin, which included about one percentage point from tariff refunds.

Apple’s December-quarter margin outlook puts rising costs in focus: the company expects a 45% to 46% gross margin, below the 47.9% it recorded for the fiscal quarter ended Sept. 26.

Apple gave the forecast on its Nov. 2 earnings call. Tariff refunds contributed about one percentage point to the prior quarter’s margin.

Apple Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh said higher memory prices would drive most of the expected sequential decline. Expenses tied to the Siri AI rollout would also weigh on margins.

“We expect gross margin to be between 45% and 46%,” Parekh said.

Apple Chief Executive John Ternus described current memory pricing as unprecedented. “What we're seeing with memory pricing right now is unprecedented,” Ternus said.

The outlook covers Apple’s fiscal quarter ending in December.