Apple plummeted 6.43% after hours as services and China market performance disappointed

Glonhui July 31｜Apple shares fell 6.43% in after-hours trading, closing at $312. Apple announced its fiscal third quarter ending June 27, 2026: revenue grew about 16% year-over-year to $109.42 billion, slightly above analyst expectations, while earnings per share rose approximately 29% to $2.02, nearly 7% higher than analyst forecasts. Apple CFO Kevan Parekh stated that EPS and operating cash flow for the third quarter both reached record highs for the same period in company history.By business segment, Apple’s hardware products performed overall better than expected, especially with Mac revenue about 20% higher than analyst estimates; iPhone revenue grew nearly 22% year-over-year, slightly above forecasts, but iPad revenue was about 10% below expectations, while wearables were roughly in line with forecasts.Services, which contribute nearly 30% of Apple’s revenue, reported a 12% year-on-year increase to $30.74 billion, nearly 2% lower than analyst expectations. Growth in this sector slowed from 16% in the previous fiscal quarter and declined about 0.8% quarter-over-quarter, ending more than three years of continuous quarterly highs in service revenue.In regional markets, Apple posted $18.82 billion in revenue in Greater China—the most closely watched market—nearly 4% below analyst expectations. Year-on-year growth slowed to 22% and did not remain roughly consistent with the previous quarter as analysts had anticipated.