Outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook used his final Q3 2026 earnings call on Thursday to report a record $109.42 billion in quarterly revenue and confirm that hardware chief John Ternus will take over leadership of future investor calls as the company navigates upcoming supply chain constraints.
Tim Cook Marks His Final Earnings Call After 15 Years
Apple held its Q3 2026 earnings call on Thursday, marking Tim Cook’s final outing as CEO at such financial phone meetings before he transitions to the role of executive chairman on September 1. For the past 15 years, Cook has led every quarterly earnings call without missing a single session since taking over the top job.
Reflecting on his tenure just before opening the floor to questions from analysts, Cook offered a public thank-you to long-term shareholders who placed their trust in the company over the decades.
“This will be my final earnings call, and John will lead these calls going forward. The transition is going seamlessly, and I am beyond excited for John to step into his new role and lead Apple into its next era.”
Tim Cook, outgoing CEO, Apple
Record Revenue and Segment Breakdown
Financially, Apple enjoyed $109.42 billion in revenue during the third fiscal quarter, representing an increase of roughly 16 percent year over year and beating Wall Street estimates. Net income climbed to $29.79 billion, or $2.02 per share, compared to $23.43 billion a year prior. That bottom-line figure included 11 cents per share from tariff rebates.
| Product Segment | Q3 2026 Revenue | YoY Change / Estimate Context |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone | $54.25 billion | increase, beating estimates |
| Services | $30.74 billion | Below Wall Street expectations |
| Wearables | $7.88 billion | In line with analyst forecasts |
| Mac | $10.35 billion | Smashed expectations, boosted by MacBook Neo |
| iPad | $6.19 billion | Below analyst estimates |
While iPhone sales performed above expectations at $54.25 billion, segments such as services, the iPad, and China sales came in below Wall Street estimates, according to earnings reports from financial analysts.
Supply Constraints and Rising Memory Costs
Despite the revenue beat, Apple’s stock dipped roughly 6 to 8 percent in extended trading after executives issued conservative guidance for the current quarter and warned of upcoming operational hurdles. Cook warned that the supply chain was facing very significant constraints driven by advanced silicon nodes.
The company’s supply constraints were attributed to a demand forecast issue rather than a regular supply issue, specifically regarding the advanced nodes used for their SOCs.
The company is also reckoning with a global memory crunch—what Cook recently described as a hundred-year flood—alongside a tight race for chip manufacturing capacity. Apple already raised hardware prices on Macs and iPads in June to offset rising memory costs, though the tech giant has not yet raised prices on iPhones, leaving analysts speculating about potential increases later in the year.
John Ternus Steps Into the Spotlight
Incoming CEO John Ternus, currently serving as Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, maintained a quiet presence for most of the earnings call but was thrust into the spotlight when Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan asked about potential long-term competition from AI-enabled devices developed by firms like OpenAI and SpaceX.
Ternus kept his response brief and general, deferring to his predecessor’s remarks on the space.
“There is so much opportunity for us with everything that’s happening in this space, and we’re just really focused on our plans and very excited about it.”
John Ternus, incoming CEO, Apple
The leadership handover has been heavily choreographed. Days before the financial call, Cook and Ternus appeared together on the red carpet at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles for the Season 4 premiere of Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso,dressed in apparently identical navy suits and
Believe” lapel pins. Ternus told reporters he aimed to build on the entertainment momentum established by original series and sports ventures like Formula 1 streaming partnerships.
What Lies Ahead for the New Administration
As Ternus prepares to take the reins on September 1, he inherits a company sitting on a market cap that recently touched $5 trillion. However, the incoming chief executive faces an immediate quarter of supply-side scrambling and margin pressures.
With Apple gearing up for its annual September hardware showcase—where the company is expected to debut the iPhone 18 alongside a redesigned Siri built using Google technology—observers are watching to see if Ternus will alter Apple’s product strategy or maintain Cook’s steady operational playbook. Whether incoming component costs and memory shortages will force consumer-facing price hikes across Apple’s flagship device lineup remains the defining unanswered question for the start of the Ternus era.
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