Technology
Apple posts its best March quarter ever, with revenue surging 17 per cent to $111.2 billion
Record iPhone sales, a services business hitting new highs, and a $100 billion buyback show a company that has figured out how to keep growing at scale
CALIFORNIA: Apple does not do modest. Its fiscal second quarter results, covering the three months to March 28th, 2026, are a reminder of what a well-oiled machine looks like at full throttle. Revenue came in at $111.2 billion, up 17 per cent year over year and a record for any March quarter in the company’s history. Net income hit $29.6 billion, up from $24.8 billion a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share rose 22 per cent to $2.01.
“Today Apple is proud to report our best March quarter ever, with revenue of $111.2 billion and double-digit growth across every geographic segment,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive. The numbers back him up entirely.
The iPhone still carries the load
iPhone revenue surged to $57 billion in the quarter, up from $46.8 billion a year earlier, a jump of nearly 22 per cent and a March quarter record. Cook attributed the performance to “extraordinary demand for the iPhone 17 lineup,” which now includes the newly launched iPhone 17e. The handset that built Apple’s empire continues to defy the sceptics who have long predicted a plateau.
Products overall generated $80.2 billion in revenue, up from $68.7 billion, with Mac contributing $8.4 billion, iPad $6.9 billion, and Wearables, Home and Accessories $7.9 billion. The quarter also saw the launch of the M4-powered iPad Air and the MacBook Neo, which Cook said is “captivating customers all around the world.”
Services: the machine within the machine
If iPhone is Apple’s engine, Services is increasingly its fuel. Revenue from the segment reached $30.98 billion in the quarter, up from $26.6 billion a year earlier, hitting yet another all-time high. Over the first six months of the fiscal year, Services has generated $61 billion, against $53 billion in the comparable period. The gross margin story here is compelling: while product gross margins are inherently constrained by hardware costs, Services carries structurally higher margins and continues to grow at pace.
Geography: China roars back
Perhaps the most striking regional story is Greater China, which posted revenue of $20.5 billion in the quarter, up sharply from $16 billion a year earlier, a rise of nearly 28 per cent. That performance will quiet, at least temporarily, concerns about Apple’s vulnerability in its most contested market. The Americas contributed $45.1 billion, Europe $28.1 billion, Japan $8.4 billion, and the Rest of Asia Pacific $9.1 billion. Every segment grew.
The income statement in full
The gross margin for the quarter came in at $54.8 billion, against $44.9 billion a year ago, reflecting Apple’s pricing discipline and services mix. Research and development spending rose sharply to $11.4 billion from $8.6 billion, a 33.6 per cent increase that signals the company is investing heavily in its next act, likely artificial intelligence and next-generation hardware. Selling, general, and administrative costs rose more modestly to $7.5 billion from $6.7 billion. Operating income reached $35.9 billion, up from $29.6 billion, and net income after a tax provision of $6.3 billion settled at $29.6 billion.
For the six months to March 28th, total revenue was $254.9 billion against $219.7 billion, with net income of $71.7 billion against $61.1 billion.
The balance sheet: cash rich and buying back
Apple ended the quarter with $45.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents, up from $35.9 billion at its last fiscal year-end in September 2025. Add in current and non-current marketable securities of $101 billion, and the liquidity position is formidable. Total assets stood at $371.1 billion. Shareholders’ equity more than doubled over the six-month period, from $73.7 billion to $106.5 billion, driven by surging retained earnings that swung from a deficit of $14.3 billion to a positive $12.4 billion.
Term debt, combining current and non-current portions, stood at $82.7 billion. Commercial paper obligations came in at $2 billion, down sharply from $8 billion at year-end, suggesting Apple is actively managing its short-term liabilities.
Cash generation: extraordinary by any measure
The cash flow statement underlines just how profitable the Apple model has become. Operating cash flow for the six months to March 28th was $82.6 billion, against $53.9 billion in the comparable period a year earlier, an increase of over 53 per cent. The quarter alone generated more than $28 billion in operating cash flow, itself a March quarter record.
“Our strong business performance during the March quarter generated over $28 billion in operating cash flow and drove new March quarter records for both operating cash flow and EPS,” said Kevan Parekh, Apple’s chief financial officer. “Continued strong customer demand for our products and services once again helped us achieve a new all-time high for our installed base of active devices across all major product categories and geographic segments.”
Over the six-month period, Apple spent $37 billion buying back its own stock and $7.7 billion on dividends. Capital expenditure was a relatively modest $4.3 billion.
Rewarding shareholders handsomely
Apple’s board wasted no time sharing the quarter’s bounty. It declared a cash dividend of $0.27 per share, an increase of 4 per cent, payable on May 14th, 2026, to shareholders of record as of May 11th. More dramatically, it authorised a fresh $100 billion share repurchase programme, one of the largest buybacks in corporate history and a statement of supreme confidence in the company’s ability to keep generating cash.
Apple hosted a live webcast of its results conference call at 2:00 pm Pacific Time on April 30th, 2026, at apple.com/investor/earnings-call, with a replay available for approximately two weeks.
For a company of Apple’s size, growing revenue by 17 per cent, net income by 19 per cent, and operating cash flow by 53 per cent in a single six-month period is not supposed to be possible. Apple, characteristically, did not get the memo.
Applications
Inshorts Group chief Deepit Purkayastha joins IAB video council for Southeast Asia and India
The co-founder and chief executive of the short-form content platform has been inducted into the IAB SEA+India Video Council, giving India a stronger voice in shaping digital video frameworks
NOIDA: India has long been the world’s most chaotic, multilingual and mobile-first digital market. Now, one of its most prominent short-video executives is getting a seat at the table where the rules are written.
Deepit Purkayastha, co-founder and chief executive of Inshorts Group, has been selected as a member of the IAB SEA+India Video Council for 2026. Run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the council brings together senior leaders from Southeast Asia and India to shape standards, best practices and measurement frameworks for the fast-evolving video and digital advertising ecosystem.
The timing is pointed. According to the IAMAI-Kantar Internet in India Report 2025, over 588 million Indians are now consuming short-video content, with growth increasingly driven by rural and non-metro audiences. India’s active internet user base has crossed 950 million, with 57 per cent of users now coming from rural markets. Yet the frameworks that govern how video consumption is measured and monetised were largely designed for single-language, Western markets and have struggled to keep pace with the scale, diversity and complexity of India’s digital landscape.
Purkayastha is no stranger to these debates. He already serves on the AI Council at Marketing and Media Alliance India and as co-chair of the Digital Entertainment Committee at the Internet and Mobile Association of India. His induction into the IAB SEA+India Video Council extends that influence into the global video standards arena.
Inshorts Group sits squarely at the intersection of these forces. Its flagship product, Inshorts, India’s highest-rated short news app, reaches 12 million active users with 60-word news summaries. Its sister platform, Public App, reaches 80 million monthly active users across more than 700 districts and 12 languages, serving communities that most global platforms barely register.
Purkayastha said the opportunity was about building something more representative. “India today sits at the centre of the global video ecosystem, but the frameworks that define how value is created and measured have not always kept pace with the realities of our market,” he said. “Being part of the IAB SEA+India Video Council is an opportunity to contribute to a more representative and future-ready approach, one that accounts for diversity in language, context, and user intent.”
As a council member, Purkayastha will contribute to shaping regional standards across video advertising, measurement and platform governance, with a focus on frameworks that are native to India’s multilingual, mobile-first ecosystem rather than imported from global benchmarks designed elsewhere.
For years, India has been content to play by rules written for other markets. Purkayastha’s induction is a signal that it is done waiting to be consulted and ready to start writing them.
