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Tariff Refund Lifts Results
Apple reported $109.4 billion in revenue for its fiscal Q3 2026, up 16% year over year, and said it beat Wall Street analysts’ revenue estimates while Tim Cook hosted his final quarterly earnings call as CEO.
“an estimated $2.19 billion in tariff refunds”
The company attributed part of the quarter’s strength to an estimated $2.19 billion in tariff refunds, with gross margin of 50.1% including a favorable impact of approximately 2 percentage points from those refunds.
Apple also reported diluted earnings per share of $2.02, up 29% year over year, and said it included a favorable impact of $0.11 from tariff refunds.
The tariff refunds followed a February U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Trump administration lacked the authority to unilaterally impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA), striking down the policy.
Mashable said the one-time tariff rebate “artificially inflated the company’s gross margin,” even as Apple’s reported results still topped expectations.
Cook’s Last Call
In a transcript published by Six Colors, Tim Cook opened the call by saying Apple was pleased to report $109.4 billion in revenue, up 16% from a year ago and a June quarter record.
Cook told analysts that iPhone revenue reached a June quarter record of $54.3 billion, up 22% from a year ago, and that Services set a June quarter record with $30.7 billion in revenue.
The same transcript said CFO Kevan Parekh and incoming CEO John Ternus were on the call alongside Cook, as the company detailed the quarter gone by and what’s to come.
Variety reported that Cook’s earnings period marked the last earnings period for outgoing CEO Tim Cook, with John Ternus set to succeed him as of Sept. 1.
In prepared remarks, Cook said, “Today, Apple is proud to report our strongest June quarter ever, with double-digit revenue growth across iPhone, Mac and Services, and in every geographic segment.”
Services Shortfall and Next
Despite the overall beat, multiple outlets tied the stock reaction to Services, with Quartz en Français saying Apple’s services revenue reached $30.74 billion, below analysts’ expectations of $31.22 billion.
“services revenue reached $30.74 billion, below analysts’ expectations of $31.22 billion”
Quartz en Français also reported that Apple’s stock fell about 3% to 4% in after-hours trading, even as revenue rose 16% to $109.4 billion and earnings per share rose 29%.
Variety said tariff refunds represented 11 cents of the EPS, and linked that boost to the February 2026 Supreme Court decision striking down President Donald Trump’s previously implemented global tariffs policy.
In the same coverage, Variety said Cook would become executive chairman of Apple’s board, while John Ternus, senior VP of hardware engineering, would succeed him in the role.
WKMG reported that Apple raised the prices of its Macs and iPads last month, citing a memory-chip shortage brought on by the artificial intelligence boom, while noting that it “hasn’t yet raised iPhone prices.”
