Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is facing rising memory chip costs that could pressure its business beyond the September quarter, with outgoing CEO Tim Cook saying the company is exploring ways to manage the impact without revealing whether higher costs could eventually affect product pricing.
Apple Warns Memory Costs Are Rising Again
During Apple’s fiscal third-quarter earnings call, Evercore analyst Amit Daryanani asked Cook whether the company’s efforts to secure more memory supply were aimed at protecting availability or preserving Apple’s value proposition for customers.
Cook said Apple has already seen memory costs increase quarter after quarter.
"We paid more for memory in the March quarter than the December quarter," Cook said. "We expected to pay significantly more in the June quarter than the March quarter, and that is what happened."
The CEO added that Apple expects memory costs to rise even further in the September quarter.
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Tim Cook Says Apple Is Exploring Supply Options
Cook said Apple has partially offset higher memory costs by using existing inventory purchased at lower prices. However, that benefit is expected to decline over time.
"We believe we’ll see decreasing benefit from this over time beyond the September quarter," Cook said.
Apple also expects lower costs for certain non-memory components to provide some relief, but Cook warned that memory pricing remains a concern.
"Beyond September, we see the market pricing for memory continuing to increase, which could drive an increasing impact on our business," he said.
Will Higher Memory Costs Lead to Higher iPhone Prices?
Cook did not confirm whether Apple would raise prices on iPhones or other products due to rising memory costs. Instead, he pointed to Apple’s efforts to improve supply flexibility.
The CEO noted that the DRAM memory market is currently dominated by three major suppliers, saying more suppliers could help improve availability and potentially pricing.
"Obviously, if there were more suppliers, that would be good," Cook said. "We’re evaluating all options."
Tim Cook Says Apple ‘Reluctantly Raised Prices’ Amid Memory Crisis
Apple has already increased prices on several products, including the MacBook Neo, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, iPad Air, HomePod, HomePod mini and Apple TV, while keeping iPhone pricing unchanged.
During the earnings call, Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring asked Cook about Apple’s pricing strategy and whether the company was focused on protecting margins or profitability.
"On the pricing front, we reluctantly raised prices, I would say," Cook said. "We did it because we’re in what I would characterize as a 100-year flood on the memory pricing, with exponential increases in memory prices."
In an interview with Reuters earlier this month, SK Hynix Inc – ADR (NASDAQ:SKHY) CEO Kwak Noh-jung warned that the memory industry could face its worst-ever supply shortage in 2027, with demand expected to outpace production capacity despite ongoing expansion efforts.
Apple Q3 Earnings Beat Expectations
Apple posted fiscal third-quarter revenue of $109.42 billion, beating Wall Street’s estimate of $108.65 billion, while earnings came in at $2.02 per share, topping expectations of $1.89.
Cupertino expects September-quarter revenue to grow 9% to 11% year over year, marking a slowdown from the 16% growth reported in the June quarter.
Price Action: Apple shares ended Thursday’s regular session at $333.43, down 1.41%, before sliding another 6.33% to $312.33 in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro.
Benzinga Edge Rankings place Apple in the 98th percentile for Quality. The stock also maintains a positive price trend across the short, medium and long term.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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