Apple warns rising memory costs will cut December margins

Apple said rising memory costs will weigh on its December-quarter profit margin, even as it reported September-quarter revenue of $114.5 billion, up 12% from a year earlier. Chief Executive John Ternus said memory costs increased in the September quarter compared with June and are expected to rise further in the quarter ending in December. He described current memory pricing as unprecedented. Apple’s forecast puts gross margin at 45% to 46%, compared with 47.9% in the September quarter. The company also cited some costs related to Siri’s artificial-intelligence features. Apple said price increases introduced for iPads and Macs in June and iPhones in September, along with inventory purchased earlier and lower costs for some other components, would partly offset the increase. Ternus said the benefit from carrying inventory is expected to decline over time. Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan did not directly answer an analyst’s question about whether Apple might raise prices again. The company reported September-quarter earnings of $2.10 per share. That figure included five cents per share from tariff refunds. Revenue was $114.5 billion, compared with $102.5 billion a year...