# John Ternus Leads Apple to Earnings Beat Amid China Sales Miss New CEO John Ternus navigates supply constraints and rising memory costs in debut report. - **Source:** [Business Insider](https://www.businessinsider.com) - **Published:** 2026-11-02 - **Topic:** [Business](https://brifing.si/c/business) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/58e9367e-e0ce-4488-871e-1ba47e7a7ce3 ## Ternus Debuts as CEO John Ternus presided over his inaugural earnings call as Apple CEO on Monday, marking a significant leadership transition. He emphasized the company's recent prolific product launch period and ongoing commitment to innovation. Despite the leadership change, the firm reported revenue of $114.5 billion, successfully surpassing Wall Street expectations of $113.46 billion. ## Financial Performance Highlights Apple reported earnings per share of $2.10, outperforming the projected $2.00 estimate. Revenue from the iPhone segment reached $57.58 billion, exceeding the anticipated $56.48 billion. However, the company faced challenges in other areas, specifically missing revenue targets in China and failing to meet expectations for iPad sales during this fiscal period. ## Margin and Cost Pressures The reported gross margin of 47.9% received a notable boost from tariff refunds. CFO Kevan Parekh noted that without these refunds, margins would have declined by approximately one point sequentially. This downward pressure is primarily attributed to unprecedented increases in memory costs, which are impacting the profitability of the company's hardware lineup. ## Regional and Segment Weakness Greater China revenue reached $17.54 billion, falling short of the $18.75 billion forecast. Analysts identified this as a concerning pattern rather than a minor error. Furthermore, the Wearables, Home, and Accessories segment missed expectations, suggesting that business units outside of the core iPhone division are currently struggling to maintain their expected growth momentum. ## Supply Chain and Pricing Apple is currently managing soaring memory costs and component shortages, which have forced the company to implement hardware price increases. Ternus described the current memory pricing environment as unprecedented. While these price hikes have helped offset rising costs, the company anticipates that memory expenses will continue to climb throughout the holiday quarter. ## Product Pipeline Strategy Since taking over on September 1, Ternus has introduced several major products, including the iPhone Duo, the Apple HomeView smart home hub, and a touchscreen MacBook Pro. The iPhone Duo launched in October, meaning its impact is not reflected in these results. Non-Pro iPhone variants are expected to arrive early next year. ## Operational Expense Outlook Apple provided limited guidance for the upcoming holiday quarter, but indicated that operating expenses are expected to range between $20.4 billion and $20.8 billion. This projection is slightly higher than the $20.37 billion estimate previously set by analysts. The company continues to navigate supply constraints while balancing these rising operational expenditure requirements. ## Market Reaction and Outlook Apple stock remained largely flat in after-hours trading following the release of the report. The company faces a complex environment characterized by strong iPhone demand contrasted with regional weakness in China and supply-side cost pressures. Investors are now closely monitoring how Ternus manages these constraints during his first full quarter as CEO. ## Sources covering this story - https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-q4-earnings-china-ipad-sales-miss-2026-11 — --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._