Apple Q4 better than expected as all eyes on iPhone Duo rollout

Apple's fourth quarter results were better than expected as the company delivered revenue growth of 12%.

The company reported fourth quarter earnings of $2.10 a share on revenue of $114.5 billion. Wall Street was looking for earnings of $1.99 a share on revenue of $113.37 billion.

Apple said it saw strength in iPhone and services revenue. The fourth quarter includes little of Apple's new portfolio including the iPhone Duo, which is tough to get. Recent product launches weren't in the quarter either. China revenue missed expectations.

CEO John Ternus said the company is closing the year "with its most ambitious lineup yet" and touted the iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 franchise.

• Apple launches iPhone Duo, its first foldable: My observations

Apple stands out among its tech giant peers because it has positive cash flow and hasn't sunk hundreds of billions of dollars into AI infrastructure. The company had fiscal 2026 revenue of $479 billion and generated $28 billion in operating cash flow in the fourth quarter.

That cash flow is handed over to investors as dividends for the most part.

By the numbers:

• iPhone revenue in the quarter was $57.58 billion, up from $49.02 billion a year ago.
• Mac sales were $10.79 billion, up from $8.726 billion a year ago.
• iPad sales fell to $6.23 billion, down from $6.95 billion a year ago.
• Wearables revenue fell to $8.3 billion from $9.01 billion a year ago.
• Services revenue was $31.57 billion, up from $28.75 billion.