Apple stock price: Q4 earnings on Nov 2, what to watch

When. Apple's call on fiscal fourth-quarter results is set for Monday 2 November 2026 at 2:00 p.m. PT, which is 5:00 p.m. ET, according to Apple's investor relations page. By our conversion, that is 22:00 UTC. The page gives the time of the call. We did not find a separate time for the press release, so check investor.apple.com.

How the stock moved into it. AAPL closed on Thursday 29 October at $348.91, up $5.08 or 1.48% from the previous close of $343.83. The day's range was $347.30 to $351.43. The 52-week range is $243.42 to $351.73, so the stock sits just below its yearly high. The Motley Fool reports that Apple is worth about $5.09 trillion and the stock is up about 27% so far this year. Live price and calendar are on our Apple page https://freekonomist.com/stocks/aapl/ .

What Apple itself guided. According to Zacks Investment Research on Yahoo Finance, the company's outlook is revenue growth of 9% to 11% year over year, a gross margin of 47% to 48% (about 1 point of it from tariff refunds) and operating expenses of $19.1 billion to $19.4 billion. The Zacks consensus is net sales of $112.95 billion, up 10.2%, and earnings of $1.98 per share. A year ago it was $1.85, The Motley Fool says. Apple beat the Zacks consensus in each of the last four quarters, by 5.1% on average.

Segments and costs. iPhone: Apple expects growth of around 15% in the September quarter, after 22% in the June quarter. Services: growth broadly like last quarter once currency effects are removed. The cost to watch is memory. Management expects a lower gross margin and slower iPhone growth and blames memory prices. Tim Cook warned last quarter of a "100-year flood on the memory pricing". The Motley Fool adds that the iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable phone, sold out on launch day with orders backed up through January. Zacks also names chip supply limits and currency as headwinds. It is John Ternus's first earnings call as CEO.

What past reactions say. Trefis counted 19 releases in five years: the stock had a positive one-day return 9 times and a negative one 10 times. Over the last three years it was positive in 33% of 12 releases. The median gain was 3.3% and the median loss 1.9%. The extremes were plus 7.6% and minus 7.4%. After the last report, on 30 July 2026, the stock fell 7.4% in a day. Trefis says none of the links it checked is strong enough to trade on, and nobody knows how the market will take the numbers.

Valuation. The Motley Fool notes the stock trades at nearly 40 times earnings of the last 12 months and says that valuation leaves little room for error. Zacks puts the forward P/E (price to expected earnings) at 35.43 against 19.39 for the sector. This is how the sources see it, not our view.

What to take from it. This is our reading, not a forecast: the numbers that matter are the ones Apple itself pointed to. Those are revenue growth, gross margin, iPhone and memory prices. The mood of well-known market voices is at https://freekonomist.com/crowd/ . We wrote a similar explainer for Amazon: https://freekonomist.com/news/amazon-stock-q3-2026-earnings-aws-39-percent-2026-10-29/ .

What we don't know. The actual results and the guidance for next quarter. When the press release comes out. How the stock reacts.

Confirmed facts

• Apple's call on fourth-quarter results is set for Monday 2 November 2026 at 2:00 p.m. PT (5:00 p.m. ET).^[1]
• Apple reports fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 results on 2 November.^[2][3]
• AAPL closed on 29 October at $348.91, up $5.08 or 1.48%; the previous close was $343.83.^[2][5]
• The day's range was $347.30 to $351.43; the 52-week range is $243.42 to $351.73.^[2][5]
• Apple's market value is about $5.09 trillion; the stock is up about 27% so far this year.^[2]
• Apple's guidance for the quarter: revenue growth of 9% to 11%, a gross margin of 47% to 48% (about 1 point from tariff refunds) and operating expenses of $19.1 billion to $19.4 billion.^[3]
• The Zacks consensus is net sales of $112.95 billion (up 10.2%) and earnings of $1.98 per share; a year ago it was $1.85.^[2][3]
• Apple beat the Zacks consensus in each of the last four quarters, by 5.1% on average.^[3]
• Apple expects iPhone growth of around 15% in the September quarter, after 22% in the June quarter; Services growth is expected to be broadly like last quarter excluding currency effects.^[3]
• Management expects a lower gross margin and slower iPhone growth and blames memory prices; Tim Cook warned last quarter of a "100-year flood on the memory pricing".^[2]
• The iPhone Duo, Apple's first foldable phone, sold out on launch day, with orders backed up through January.^[2]
• It is John Ternus's first earnings call as CEO.^[2][5]
• Over five years there were 19 releases: the one-day return was positive 9 times and negative 10 times; over three years it was positive in 33% of 12 releases.^[4]
• The median one-day gain was 3.3% and the median loss 1.9%; the extremes were plus 7.6% and minus 7.4%.^[4]
• After the previous report, on 30 July 2026, the stock fell 7.4% in a day.^[4]
• The stock trades at nearly 40 times earnings of the last 12 months (The Motley Fool); the forward P/E is 35.43 against 19.39 for the sector (Zacks).^[2][3]

Implications

• ConfirmedApple publishes fiscal fourth-quarter results on 2 November, with the call at 5:00 p.m. ET.
• ConfirmedThe revenue outlook, gross margin, iPhone growth and memory prices matter most to the market.
• Our readingThe stock's past reactions to earnings were mixed, so the move after the report is not set by the numbers alone.

Still unknown

• The actual results and Apple's guidance for next quarter.
• The time of the press release: the investor page gives only the time of the call.
• How the stock reacts after the report.
• How hard memory prices hit gross margin.

Who it affects

US, World. People who follow Apple stock and Big Tech earnings

Sources

1. Apple Investor Relations: FY 26 Fourth Quarter Results October 30, 2026 · official
2. The Motley Fool: Nov. 2 could be a big day for Apple stock October 30, 2026 · media
3. Yahoo Finance (Zacks Investment Research): Apple's Q4 earnings loom: buy? October 29, 2026 · media
4. Trefis: Apple earnings ahead: what past reactions say about the stock October 30, 2026 · media
5. Yahoo Finance: Apple Inc. (AAPL) Stock Price, News, Quote & History October 30, 2026 · media