Apple Reports Record March Quarter as CEO Tim Cook Announces Step Down
Apple exceeded Wall Street expectations in its fiscal Q2 2026, posting $111.2 billion in revenue and announcing a historic leadership transition.
Financial Performance
For the second quarter of fiscal 2026, ended March 28, Apple reported strong results that beat analyst estimates.
- Revenue: $111.2 billion, up 17% year-over-year
- Diluted EPS: $2.01, up 22% year-over-year
- Operating Cash Flow: Exceeded $28 billion — a record for the March quarter
Analysts had forecast EPS of $1.96 on revenue of $109.66 billion.
Product and Segment Revenue
iPhone led the quarter with $56.99 billion in revenue, setting a new March quarter record driven by demand for the iPhone 17 lineup.
Other key segments:
- Services: $30.97 billion (all-time record)
- Wearables, Home and Accessories: $11.5 billion
- Mac: $8.39 billion
Revenue grew in every geographic segment, with double-digit growth overall. Greater China delivered $20.49 billion, notably above the $18.9 billion expected.
Installed Base and New Products
The installed base of active Apple devices reached an all-time high across all major product categories, surpassing 2.5 billion devices.
During the quarter, Apple launched:
- The iPhone 17e
- A new M4-powered iPad Air
- The MacBook Neo
Capital Return Program
Apple’s board declared a cash dividend of $0.27 per share, a 4% increase, payable on May 14, 2026, to shareholders of record as of May 11. The board also authorized an additional $100 billion share repurchase program.
Leadership Transition
CEO Tim Cook will step down in September, ending a historic tenure. He will be succeeded by John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering.
Industry Context
Global smartphone shipments declined 4.1% in the first calendar quarter of 2026 to 289.7 million units, ending a ten-quarter streak of growth. Analysts expect premium devices like the iPhone to be less affected by this trend.
Separately, Apple faces potential headwinds from a global memory chip shortage driven by AI data center expansion, which may impact product margins.
Prior Quarter Comparison
In the preceding fiscal first quarter of 2026 (ended December 27, 2025):
- Revenue: $143.8 billion (up 16% year-over-year)
- Diluted EPS: $2.84 (up 19%)
- Operating cash flow: Nearly $54 billion