Four filings carried the same sentence. Services sales had risen because there was advertising, there was the App Store, there was cloud. In the 10-Q for the fiscal third quarter ended June 27, 2026, the App Store left that sentence. The reason became "advertising and cloud services." In the same 10-Q the company wrote that, as a seasonal product introduction, it had introduced Siri AI alongside iOS 27 and macOS 27 Golden Gate. Siri went in. The App Store went out.
The number is still standing. In these three months Services sales were $30.739 billion; gross margin 75.6 percent; Services gross profit $23.245 billion. Total sales $109.417 billion, net income $29.789 billion. In the same quarter the company paid $25.8 billion for its own shares.
The investment tension sits here. The 75.6 percent invoice is still being booked. The commission itself is in court: the Epic injunction, the DMA fine, the Justice Department suit. The till is buying stock anyway. Open-market averages paid in May and June were $297.18 and $296.18. The market's last print is not in front of us; the trail we have is Apple's own open-market average. The reason to keep reading is whether this 75.6 is a floor or a lagging invoice.
The name that fell out of the sentence
Apple's economic machine is still two gears. First, the iPhone. These three months: $54.252 billion, 49.6 percent of total sales; a year earlier $44.582 billion, up 22 percent. The reason is the same every quarter: Pro models. Second, Services. $30.7 billion, 28.1 percent of sales and 42.4 percent of gross profit. The phone is a seasonal pulse. Services is the floor of the invoice.
The history of the Services sentence is harder than the product table. Fiscal 2025 third quarter, the 2025 10-K, fiscal 2026 first and second quarters: growth is "advertising, the App Store and cloud." In this 10-Q the App Store is gone. Services still grew 12 percent. Sales did not stop. The story changed.
This is not a bankruptcy. It shows that the commission is legally narrowing, and that the company has stopped narrating it as a growth engine. In the Epic case a California court in 2025 found the company in contempt of a 2021 injunction; a new injunction barred commissions on external purchases. The Ninth Circuit in December 2025 partly affirmed and partly softened: Apple may collect some commissions and may insist on a form of linkage. On May 21, 2026 the company went to the Supreme Court. On June 30, 2026 the Court agreed to take the question of the legal standard. The file is not closed. In Europe the DMA Article 5(4) investigation produced, in April 2025, a 500 million euro fine and a cease-and-desist; Article 6(4) is still open, with a ceiling of 10 percent of annual worldwide sales. In the United States the Justice Department sued for monopolization in the "performance smartphone" and "smartphone" markets.
Advertising still sits on the same Services line. Part of advertising is the licenses Google pays for search distribution. Google was found in 2024 to have violated U.S. antitrust law; the September 2, 2025 remedies order is on appeal. One of the Justice Department's original remedies would have barred Google from offering Apple commercial terms for search distribution. If the appeal turns, the "advertising" in the Services sentence sits on thin ground too. The company writes this in a risk factor. It does not write it in the MD&A growth sentence.
Seventy-five and a half percent
Services gross margin in these three months: 75.6 percent. A year earlier, also 75.6 percent. For nine months, 76.3 percent. The floor is not moving. Product margin is moving: from 34.5 percent to 40.1 percent. Total gross margin from 46.5 percent to 50.1 percent. Net income is rising faster than sales: 27 percent against 16 percent.
This curve is not a miracle curve. Fiscal first quarter (ended December 27, 2025) is the holiday peak: sales $143.756 billion, net income $42.097 billion, iPhone $85.269 billion. Second quarter $111.184 billion / $29.578 billion. Third quarter $109.4 / $29.8. A seasonal drop, not a structural collapse. What is structural is that the third quarter is still 16 percent / 27 percent above the year-earlier $94.036 billion / $23.434 billion. Fiscal 2025 (the year ended September 27, 2025, not a quarter) left $416.161 billion of sales and $112.010 billion of net income. iPhone that year $209.6 billion, Services $109.2 billion, Greater China down 4 percent. China turned this year.
Greater China in these three months: $18.816 billion, up 22 percent, 17.2 percent of sales. The reason is iPhone; the yuan's strength against the dollar is a tailwind. First quarter up 38 percent, second quarter 28, now 22. The recovery is real and slowing. Europe up 22 percent, Americas 11, Japan 13, rest of Asia Pacific 16. The iPhone is growing on Pro across a wide geography. Not a single-country story. The single-country risk is still there: 17 percent, mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, inside data localization and tariff politics.
Mac in these three months: $10.352 billion, up 29 percent, notebooks. iPad $6.191 billion, down 6 percent, iPad mini and iPad Air. Wearables $7.883 billion, up 6 percent. Hardware's second rank is Mac; in the phone's shadow, under Services.
| Line | P3M Jun 27, 2026 (USD bn) | P3M Jun 28, 2025 (USD bn) | YoY | 2026Q3 sales mix | Gross margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone | 54.252 | 44.582 | +22% | 49.6% | not disclosed |
| Mac | 10.352 | 8.046 | +29% | 9.5% | not disclosed |
| iPad | 6.191 | 6.581 | -6% | 5.7% | not disclosed |
| Wearables, Home and Accessories | 7.883 | 7.404 | +6% | 7.2% | not disclosed |
| Products (total) | 78.678 | 66.613 | +18% | 71.9% | 40.1% |
| Services | 30.739 | 27.423 | +12% | 28.1% | 75.6% |
| Total | 109.417 | 94.036 | +16% | 100% | 50.1% |
The product that shines with a refund, doubled in the warehouse
The jump in product gross margin should not be read as a factory victory; the company wrote that itself. "A different mix of products and tariff refunds, partially offset by higher costs, including memory." On February 20, 2026 the U.S. Supreme Court struck down certain tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The company applied for refunds; refunds received were recorded as a reduction of products cost of sales. On January 14, 2026 the Commerce Department's Section 232 semiconductor investigation initial results did not impose extra tariffs. Product margin contains this legal refund. The memory bill has not fully arrived.
Management also writes, in the same 10-Q, this: there is supply constraint and cost increase in advanced semiconductors, NAND and DRAM; the trend is expected to intensify; price increases may both fall short and cut demand. This sentence entered in fiscal 2026 second quarter and sharpened in the third. The physical counterpart is inventory. On June 27, 2026 stock stood at $11.092 billion. At fiscal 2025 year-end on September 27, 2025 it was $5.718 billion; on March 28, 2026, $6.747 billion. Nearly double in nine months. Manufacturing purchase obligations $57.0 billion, $56.2 billion of that within twelve months. The warehouse is filling. The bill comes later.
R&D in these three months: $11.729 billion, up 32 percent. Eleven percent of sales. A year earlier $8.866 billion, 9 percent. First-quarter reason: infrastructure, headcount, engineering program. Second quarter: infrastructure and headcount. Third quarter: "infrastructure-related costs, including investments in artificial intelligence, and headcount." Siri AI left the WWDC sentence and was written into an expense line. Because of DMA interoperability obligations, Siri AI is already not being shipped, or is being held back, in some jurisdictions. The company says this in a risk factor. Introduction and delivery are not the same thing.
Selling, general and administrative $7.346 billion, up 10 percent. Operating income $35.695 billion. Pretax $36.267 billion; effective tax 17.9 percent, a year earlier 16.4 percent. Stock-based compensation in these three months $3.401 billion, $10.523 billion for nine months. Not a cash outflow, dilution. It is taken back in the owner-earnings account.
Open market at 297 dollars
Cash is not contradicting profit. Nine-month operating cash flow $116.996 billion; nine-month net income $101.464 billion. This 10-Q gives only nine-month operating cash; the quarter is not on that table. Nine-month investing cash flow minus $18.811 billion; financing minus $94.575 billion. Cash paid for buybacks in nine months $62.094 billion; dividends $11.778 billion. Purchases of property, plant and equipment $6.799 billion. Nine-month free cash, operating minus that capex, $110.2 billion.
On June 27, 2026 cash $39.544 billion, short-term marketable securities $22.855 billion, long-term marketable securities $84.118 billion: $146.5 billion. Commercial paper $1.997 billion, current portion of long-term debt $11.007 billion, long-term debt $71.340 billion: $84.3 billion. Net cash about $62 billion. The $12.5 billion of operating leases is a September 27, 2025 10-K moment; this 10-Q does not update that line.
The share count is narrowing. September 27, 2025: 14.773 billion shares. December 27: 14.703 billion. March 28: 14.668 billion. June 27: 14.609 billion. July 17 cover date: 14.594 billion. Shares retired in nine months: 215 million; net shrinkage is smaller because stock-based compensation prints new paper. Diluted weighted average in these three months 14.715 billion shares; basic weighted average 14.656 billion. Diluted earnings per share $2.02, a year earlier $1.57. Basic $2.03. A share count is not a dollar.
On May 1, 2025 an extra $100 billion program was announced; by September 27, 2025 only $221 million of it had been used. On April 30, 2026 another $100 billion. On June 27, $38.0 billion remained under the May 2025 program. Quarterly dividend $0.27; raised from $0.26 in the second quarter; $4.0 billion in these three months. First quarter $25.0 billion of buybacks, second quarter $11.0 billion, third $25.8 billion. In May 2026 a $10.0 billion accelerated share repurchase (ASR) began; 26.5 million shares have been delivered so far; the average ASR price will be known in the fourth quarter. Cash includes the whole ASR; the share count is not finished yet. $25.8 billion is not a completed retired-share price.
The open market is clean. May 3-30: 26.92 million shares, average $297.18. May 31-June 27: 26.22 million shares, average $296.18. The market's last print is not in front of us. The trail we have is these two averages. What the market is assuming is unknown; what the company paid for its own shares is known.
| Item | Value | Unit | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common shares outstanding (instant) | 14,608,963,000 | shares | Jun 27, 2026 |
| Common shares outstanding (prior year-end) | 14,773,260,000 | shares | Sep 27, 2025 |
| Cover-date shares | 14,594,180,000 | shares | Jul 17, 2026 |
| Diluted weighted-average shares | 14,714,676,000 | shares | P3M ended Jun 27, 2026 |
| Basic weighted-average shares | 14,656,110,000 | shares | P3M ended Jun 27, 2026 |
| Shares retired (nine months) | 215,000,000 | shares | YTD ended Jun 27, 2026 |
| Cash paid for repurchases (nine months) | 62.094 | USD billion | YTD ended Jun 27, 2026 |
| Repurchases (MD&A, quarter) | 25.8 | USD billion | P3M ended Jun 27, 2026 |
| Dividends (MD&A, quarter) | 4.0 | USD billion | P3M ended Jun 27, 2026 |
| Open-market average, May 3-30 | 297.18 | USD/share | 26.92 million shares |
| Open-market average, May 31-Jun 27 | 296.18 | USD/share | 26.22 million shares |
| Remaining under May 2025 program | 38.0 | USD billion | Jun 27, 2026 |
No quote, a bridge
Without a last print there is also no quoted multiple. Two separate accounts stand. First, an implied-multiple skeleton on twelve-month owner earnings built from the file's own numbers. Fiscal 2025 net income $112.010 billion (annual, not a quarter) minus 2025 nine months $84.544 plus 2026 nine months $101.464: twelve-month net income $128.9 billion. Same method, twelve-month operating cash flow $146.7 billion, capex $10.0 billion, free cash $136.7 billion. Twelve-month stock-based compensation $13.7 billion. Owner earnings, free cash minus that compensation, about $123.0 billion. On 14.609 billion shares:
- 25 times owner earnings: about $211 a share
- 30 times: about $252
- 35 times: about $295
The open-market buybacks sit at $297. The top rung of 35 times. This is not a quoted multiple. It is where the company's own reservation price falls against constructed earning power.
| Approach | Input | Source | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| TTM net income (constructed) | 112.010 - 84.544 + 101.464 | FY2025 annual NI minus 9M FY2025 plus 9M FY2026 | USD 128.930 billion |
| TTM FCF (constructed) | OCF 146.724 minus capex 10.041 | Same method, operating cash and PP&E purchases | USD 136.683 billion |
| Owner earnings (FCF minus SBC) | 136.683 minus 13.706 | TTM SBC: 12.863 - 9.680 + 10.523 | USD 122.977 billion |
| Instant shares | 14,608,963,000 shares | Form 10-Q, outstanding shares at June 27, 2026 | denominator |
| 25x owner earnings | 122.977 x 25 / 14.609 billion shares | Implied-multiple frame; not a quote | about USD 211/share |
| 30x owner earnings | 122.977 x 30 / 14.609 billion shares | Implied-multiple frame; not a quote | about USD 252/share |
| 35x owner earnings | 122.977 x 35 / 14.609 billion shares | Implied-multiple frame; not a quote | about USD 295/share |
| Company open-market prints | USD 297.18 and 296.18 | 10-Q Part II Item 2, May-June 2026 | top of the 35x rung |
| Cash + marketable securities | 39.544 + 22.855 + 84.118 | Balance sheet, June 27, 2026 | USD 146.517 billion |
| Debt (CP + current LTD + LTD) | 1.997 + 11.007 + 71.340 | Balance sheet, June 27, 2026 | USD 84.344 billion |
| Net cash | 146.517 minus 84.344 | Lease liability not updated at June (FYE USD 12.5 billion) | USD 62.173 billion (~USD 4.3/share) |
| Services gross profit (P3M) | USD 23.245 billion, 75.6% margin | Item 2 MD&A, three months ended June 27, 2026 | 28% of sales, 42% of gross profit |
The second account is company-specific. Net cash about $62 billion, around four dollars a share; in a $297 world, negligible. The real residual is in Services. These three months: $23.2 billion of Services gross profit; first quarter was $23.0 billion. Roughly $92 billion a year of high-quality gross-profit flow. If the commission narrows in court, part of that flow goes. If advertising and cloud stayed in the sentence, part of it stays. In fiscal 2025 Services was $109.2 billion and grew 14 percent; these nine months $91.7 billion, 14 percent. Growth is still there. The name changed.
The path to capital loss is three wires, and all three are in this 10-Q. One: the commission structure narrows, Services margin comes down from the mid-seventies, the fuel of the buyback thins. Two: the DRAM and NAND bill eats product margin without refunds, the $11.1 billion of inventory and $57 billion of manufacturing commitments turn into write-downs; price increases cut units. Three: Greater China shrinks again and/or the Google search license is cut by the remedies order. All three are not required. One is enough.
The reverse path is in the same file. If advertising and cloud keep Services in double digits even after the App Store left the sentence, the floor is solid. If iPhone Pro and China stay ahead of a year earlier in the September quarter, the cycle has not died. The share count keeps falling. The DRAM shock is a one-quarter cost, demand does not break. If the missing print comes out clearly below the $297 buyback trail, the same machine is a gift for a patient buyer. The file is not giving that gift. What it gives is that management is willing to eat shares at $297.
The fair counter-argument is this: earning power is rising, cash confirms it, China turned, gross margin is 50 percent, there is net cash, diluted earnings per share reached $2.02. For a quality compounder, 30-35 times can be fair. Siri AI may one day cut invoices too. That argument is unfair if it waves away the commission being in court and the refund inside product margin as "risks remain." The fair version is this: Apple made more money this quarter and the till showed it; whether it is expensive is whether buying shares at $297 leaves a margin of safety.
The next data is the 10-K for the fiscal year ending September 26, 2026, and the fourth quarter that comes with it. Three things there change the thesis. Services gross-margin percentage falling below the mid-seventies, or a writing that App Store/commission dollars fell. Product margin retreating without refunds and inventory staying above $11 billion. Greater China shrinking again versus a year earlier. The Supreme Court's Epic standard, a DMA 6(4) decision, a Section 232 tariff: law walks through the same door.
This stock, even without a quote, wants a temperament. Who wants it: someone who can read a 10-Q sentence once in twelve months and see whether commission, memory and China are breaking at the same time; who does not treat the buyback as a deed; who does not yet count Siri AI as a cash flow. Who does not: someone who sees a quote and buys "cheap technology"; who treats the holiday quarter as a year; who treats 75.6 percent as infinite. It is not distressed. The till is full, the debt can be rolled, nine-month cash is holding up profit. It is not cheap either, because the only transaction price we have sits on 35 times constructed owner earnings, and that price is being paid with the company's own cash.
The verdict is expensive. There is no last print; the bridge rests on the company's May-June open-market trail and on $123 billion of twelve-month owner earnings. $297 does not leave a margin of safety for a quarter whose memory bill has not fully arrived, whose commission is in court, whose product margin is refund-padded. To hold this stock is to believe that the commission in court will still write 75.6 percent on the books, and that the $11.1 billion of inventory in the warehouse will melt in the next iPhone cycle and swallow the memory bill.