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Apple's inventory surges 154% as memory chip costs climb
TechCrunch • • business
Key Points:
- Apple’s inventory surged by 31.1% in fiscal Q4, reaching $14.54 billion, with a year-over-year increase of 154.3%, driven largely by stockpiling of computer memory.
- The company forecasted a gross margin of 45% to 46% for the December quarter, down from 47.9% in September, mainly due to rising memory costs.
- CEO John Ternus highlighted unprecedented increases in memory pricing and anticipated further cost hikes beyond December, partially offset by earlier device price increases.
- Apple’s manufacturing purchase obligations rose by $33 billion from June to September as the company ramped up memory purchases to improve supply.
- Supply constraints negatively impacted iPad sales, with revenue falling 10% year-over-year to $6.2 billion, missing analyst expectations, while iPhone and Mac sales exceeded estimates.
