Apple has warned that memory prices are rising at an unprecedented rate, with higher component costs expected to continue into 2027. During its November 2, 2026 earnings call, CEO John Ternus confirmed that the company faces increasing memory expenses, while manufacturing purchase obligations have grown by $33 billion between the June and September quarters.
The rising costs are already affecting Apple’s financial outlook. The company expects its gross margin to decline to between 45% and 46% during the December quarter, compared with 47.9% in the September quarter. Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh attributed most of the expected sequential decline, after accounting for tariff refunds, to higher memory costs.
The disclosures provide another indication of how tightening global DRAM supplies are affecting consumer computer manufacturers, as demand from artificial intelligence infrastructure competes with conventional hardware production.
Ternus described the current memory pricing environment as “unprecedented,” explaining that Apple experienced higher memory costs during the September quarter compared with the preceding three months.
Those increases were partially offset by memory inventory purchased at earlier prices and lower costs for certain other components. However, Apple expects the situation to become more expensive during the holiday quarter.
The company has already increased prices across several product categories, including Mac and iPad devices in June and iPhones in September. Ternus said those adjustments have helped offset some of the additional manufacturing expenses.
Apple expects memory purchases to become even more expensive beyond December, while the financial benefit of existing inventory gradually diminishes.
One of the most significant disclosures concerns Apple’s manufacturing purchase obligations, which increased by $33 billion between the June and September quarters.
The figure represents an increase in commitments to purchase manufacturing-related goods and services, rather than an additional $33 billion spent exclusively on RAM or other memory chips.
Apple disclosed the increase while discussing its efforts to secure component supplies. Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan reiterated that the company continues working with its established suppliers to improve availability.
The distinction matters because the larger purchasing commitments reflect Apple’s broader manufacturing arrangements. They should not be interpreted as a direct measurement of memory inflation or the company’s total spending on DRAM.
The pressure extends beyond Apple. Major memory manufacturers, including Samsung, SK hynix and Micron, are experiencing substantial demand from AI data centers, particularly for high-bandwidth memory and server-oriented products.
Manufacturers’ focus on these higher-value markets is contributing to tighter availability of conventional memory used in personal computers, laptops and other consumer electronics.
The supply situation has already prompted warnings from memory manufacturers. SK hynix expects memory supply constraints to persist through the end of the decade, reflecting the scale of demand growth associated with AI infrastructure.
These conditions are relevant to PC builders because conventional DRAM is used in desktop memory kits and laptops, while NAND flash is essential for SSD storage. Continued supply pressure could affect component costs and future system pricing, although Apple’s disclosures do not establish specific upcoming price increases for Windows PCs or individual RAM kits.
The impact is also visible in other consumer hardware categories. Raspberry Pi has raised prices for memory-heavy configurations amid higher DRAM costs, demonstrating how rising component expenses can translate into more expensive finished products.
Graphics cards are another area exposed to memory pricing pressures, although they use specialized graphics memory rather than the same conventional DRAM configurations found in most system RAM kits. Reported increases in GDDR6 costs have also raised concerns about Radeon GPU pricing.
Apple’s September-quarter financial results show that the company remains profitable despite these pressures. Revenue reached $114.5 billion, an increase of 12% year over year, while diluted earnings per share reached $2.10.
Its reported 47.9% gross margin also benefited from approximately one percentage point of tariff refunds, making that figure an imperfect comparison with the December-quarter forecast.
For the coming quarter, Apple expects continued benefits from previously purchased inventory and savings on certain non-memory components. However, management anticipates that those offsets will become less effective if memory prices continue increasing.
Apple has not announced another specific round of product price increases in response to its latest forecast. Its November 2 comments instead establish that higher memory costs are expected to remain a financial challenge beyond the December quarter.
For PC enthusiasts, the significance is that even a manufacturer with Apple’s purchasing scale is facing sustained component cost pressure. The company’s warning adds to evidence that the memory supply imbalance is affecting the wider consumer hardware industry, with potential consequences for computer pricing and upgrade costs heading into 2027.
