Apple and Palantir Shares Fall Before the Bell Despite Beating Estimates

The results were Apple's first since John Ternus succeeded Tim Cook as chief executive in September. The company reported revenue of $114.5 billion for its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended September 26, up 12% from a year earlier and a record for a September quarter. Diluted earnings per share rose 14% to $2.10. Apple said tariff refunds added about 5 cents to earnings per share and about 1 percentage point to its 47.9% gross margin.

Full-year revenue reached $479 billion, which Apple called an all-time record. Ternus told CNBC it was Apple's "best fiscal year ever."

Margins Worry Investors

The concern was what comes next. CNBC reported that Apple expects revenue in the December quarter to grow 7% to 10%, ahead of the 6.1% analysts had forecast. But it guided gross margin to 45% to 46%, below analysts' expectation of 46.3% and down from the fourth quarter.

Apple said memory cost more than it did in the June quarter, as a global memory shortage and a rush for computer components push up prices. Ternus said Apple "reluctantly" raised some prices, which helped offset higher component costs, CNBC reported.

"The concern is profitability," Violeta Todorova, senior research analyst at Leverage Shares, told CNBC. She said management pointed to memory costs and the cost of rolling out its Siri AI as the main pressures, and that memory shortages are also expected to limit Mac and iPad supply. Apple released an updated Siri during the quarter as a free upgrade for compatible iPhones.

The product figures were mixed. Using LSEG estimates, CNBC reported iPhone revenue of $57.58 billion against an expected $56.54 billion, and Mac revenue of $10.79 billion against an expected $9.61 billion. iPad revenue fell more than 10% to about $6.2 billion, short of the $6.7 billion forecast, and wearables, home and accessories missed as well. Services reached an all-time high, though CNBC said growth slowed to under 10%, the slowest since 2022. Apple shares had risen 25% in 2026 before the results, a lead that Todorova said leaves "little room for disappointment."

Palantir Raises Its Outlook

Palantir reported third-quarter revenue of $2.313 billion, up 96% from a year earlier, according to its earnings release. US commercial revenue grew 148% to $984 million, passing US government revenue of $953 million for the first time in the company's history. GAAP net income attributable to common stockholders was $1.128 billion, or 44 cents per diluted share.

The company raised its full-year revenue forecast to between $8.530 billion and $8.534 billion, and now expects US commercial revenue above $3.559 billion, growth of at least 143%. It guided fourth-quarter revenue to between $2.649 billion and $2.653 billion.

Chief executive Alex Karp tied the results to demand from governments that want AI systems under their own control. "The Sovereign AI moment is purpose-built for Palantir," he said in the release.

Why It Matters

The two reactions show how little patience investors have right now with highly valued technology stocks. Apple's numbers show how the AI build-out is pushing up hardware costs: data centre demand for memory is squeezing the margins of the world's most valuable consumer electronics company. Palantir's numbers suggest that companies are now spending on AI software at scale, and it remains one of the clearest beneficiaries. Even so, investors sold the stock after a beat-and-raise quarter.