Key Takeaways

• Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares closed 1.90% lower at $331.90 on 3 November 2026, the first full session after its fiscal fourth-quarter results. ¹
• Apple guided December-quarter revenue growth of 7% to 10% and a gross margin of 45% to 46%, below the 47.90% reported for the September quarter. ²
• On the one-hour chart, the shares traded below both the 50-period and 200-period moving averages as of 10:25 (GMT+8) on 4 November 2026.

Apple stock fell 1.90% to $331.90 on 3 November 2026, a day after Apple guided December-quarter revenue growth of 7% to 10%, above the 6.10% analysts had expected. ^1,3 The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.83% in the same session. ⁴ So the selling does not appear to have been about sales.

As of 02:25 (UTC) / 10:25 (GMT+8) on 4 November 2026, Apple shares traded near $327.25 in the US overnight session, 1.40% below the 3 November close, on the TradingView chart used for this analysis; the 52-week range is $243.42 to $351.73. ⁴

This piece looks at why a record September quarter met selling, what Apple’s own filing shows once tariff refunds are stripped out, and what that changes about the risk picture into Friday’s US jobs report. For CFD traders, the gap mattered as much as the guide: the hourly chart shows Monday’s last print near $339 and Tuesday’s first hour trading down to about $325, with nothing in between.

Record Quarter, Softer Margin Guide

Apple’s September quarter beat on the top line by a clear margin. Revenue rose 11.72% to $114.48B, with iPhone up 17.46% to $57.58B, Mac up 23.68% to $10.79B, and Greater China up 21.02% to $17.54B. ⁵ Diluted earnings per share came in at $2.10, which included a $0.05 lift from tariff refunds. ⁶

Not every line grew. iPad revenue fell 10.40% to $6.23B, and Wearables, Home and Accessories fell 7.91% to $8.30B. ⁵ Services rose 9.82% to $31.57B, a record, but slower than the 15.10% pace it ran at a year earlier. ^5,7

The guidance is where the reaction started. Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh guided Services growth of 8% to 9%, against the 10.70% analysts expected according to Reuters, and a gross margin of 45% to 46%. ^2,3 Management tied the margin step-down mainly to higher memory costs, plus spending on the Siri AI rollout, and said Mac and iPad supply would be constrained in the December quarter. ^2,8

Chief Executive John Ternus, reporting his first quarter in the role, described memory pricing as “unprecedented” and said it continues to rise beyond December. ⁸ Apple shares were down about 4% in premarket trading on 3 November as that guidance was digested. ⁹

Those are the headline numbers. The more telling figure sits in a footnote about tariff refunds.

The Footnote Behind 47.90%

The 47.90% September-quarter gross margin came with a footnote worth about one percentage point. Apple said roughly 1 point of it came from tariff refunds. ⁶ In the June quarter, the reported margin was 50.10%, with about 2 points from the same source. ¹⁰

Strip those refunds out and the underlying margin reads close to 48.10% in June, about 46.90% in September, and 45% to 46% guided for December. Read that way, the December guide appears to extend a step-down already visible in Apple’s numbers, rather than arriving out of nowhere.

This is a simplification, and it is worth saying what it leaves out. Apple gave the refund effects as approximate figures, so the adjusted margins are approximate too, and the guide may include items Apple did not break out. Parekh said that, without the refunds, the September margin would have fallen by about 1 point from June, mainly on memory. ³

The balance sheet shows how Apple softened that hit. Inventories stood at $14.54B on 26 September 2026, against $5.72B a year earlier, a rise of 154.30%. ⁵ Management said carry-in inventory and cheaper non-memory parts partly offset higher memory costs in September, and that it expects some carry-in benefit in December as well. ²

Inventory bought earlier works like a cushion against rising component prices: it softens the cost line while it lasts, and it is used up as products ship. With Ternus describing memory pricing as still rising beyond December, ⁸ that cushion and its size are now part of the AAPL earnings story.

Apple guided revenue above estimates and margin below them. On 3 November, the shares traded the margin.

That explains the direction of Tuesday’s move. The chart shows how the shares handled it.

Gap Down, Partial Recovery on the Chart

The hourly chart shows the move in three steps. Apple shares tested the $351.70 area twice, on 23 October and 29 October, and pulled back both times. They slid into the release on 2 November, touching about $336, then gapped lower on 3 November to a first-hour low near $325.30, the lowest hourly print since the chart window opened on 7 October.

From that low, the shares recovered 2.03% to the $331.90 close, on volume of 63.2 million shares, 59.10% above average. ^1,4 The last hourly bar closed at $331.72. As of 10:25 (GMT+8) on 4 November, the overnight session quote sat near $327.25, below both of those figures.

Price sat below both moving averages at the cut-off. The 50-period MA, which turned lower in early November, read about $343.05, and the 200-period MA, which had flattened, read about $340.05. The last hourly close was 2.45% below the 200-period line.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the TradingView setup used for this analysis read 31.62 at the cut-off, with its signal line at 31.79. It dipped near 25 during 3 November, its first move below 30 in the window. For an indicator that spent most of October between 40 and 65, that was a change of scenery.

Levels on a chart are only half a watch list. The other half is the calendar.

AAPL Levels and Dates Traders Are Watching

The table lists the chart levels that framed the post-earnings move. They are reference points read from the chart, not trade signals, and levels read off an image are approximate.

Level	Approximate Price	What It Marks
Level 1 resistance	$351.70	Twice-tested high zone, 23 and 29 October; 52-week high $351.73 4
Level 2 resistance	$343.05	50-period MA on the one-hour chart
Level 3 resistance	$340.05	200-period MA on the one-hour chart
Reference	$331.90	3 November regular-session close 1
Level 1 support	$325.30	3 November post-earnings low, lowest hourly print since 7 October

Table 1: AAPL levels as of 02:25 (UTC) / 10:25 (GMT+8) on 4 November 2026. Sources: TradingView one-hour chart, Yahoo Finance, Gotrade. Indicative only.

What to Watch

• US Employment Situation, 6 November 2026: October payrolls at 13:30 (UTC) / 21:30 (GMT+8). ¹¹ A rate-sensitive print for large-cap tech. Release times sit on the economic calendar.
• US Consumer Price Index, 10 November 2026: October inflation data at 13:30 (UTC) / 21:30 (GMT+8). ¹²
• Apple Dividend Record Date, 12 November 2026: $0.27 per share, payable 16 November. ⁶ Share CFD positions held over an ex-dividend date usually carry a dividend adjustment.
• What Would Change the Read: The margin-led read weakens if the shares hold back above the 200-period MA near $340.05 on the hourly chart; it holds while price stays below both averages.

Apple Stock FAQ

What Is the AAPL Stock Price Today?

Apple shares closed at $331.90 on 3 November 2026 and traded near $327.25 in the overnight session as of 10:25 (GMT+8) on 4 November. ¹ Prices move faster than an FAQ does, so a live AAPL quote is the better source.

Why Did Apple Stock Fall After Earnings?

Coverage tied the move to a 45% to 46% gross margin guide, below estimates, and an 8% to 9% Services growth guide, while the 7% to 10% revenue guide came in above estimates. ^3,9

What Did Apple Report for Fiscal Q4 2026?

Revenue of $114.48B, up 11.72%, and diluted earnings per share of $2.10, including $0.05 from tariff refunds. ^5,6

Monday’s results answered the revenue question with a beat. Tuesday’s trade suggested the market was asking a different one: how much of each sale Apple keeps while memory prices climb. Until the December quarter reports, that question carries the read on Apple stock.

The 3 November open showed how an earnings gap works in practice: the shares moved from about $339 to the $325 area between two hourly bars, with no trading in between. A Stop Loss can limit losses to a planned size in normal conditions, but in a gap it is filled at the next available price, which can be worse than the level set. Positions held through a results release or a major data print, such as Friday’s jobs report, carry that gap risk.

Leverage on share CFDs magnifies gains and losses equally, so a 1.90% move in the underlying share becomes a larger change relative to the margin committed. Sizing positions as a percentage of account equity, rather than around a view on one earnings release, keeps a single session’s volatility from carrying outsized weight on the account balance.

Related Reading

• Apple Stock News
• Earnings News Today
• NAS100 News

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References

[1] “Apple Inc. (AAPL) Stock Price, News, Quote & History – Yahoo Finance” https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AAPL/ Accessed on 4 November 2026.

[2] “Apple (AAPL) Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript – The Motley Fool” https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2026/11/02/apple-aapl-q4-2026-earnings-call-transcript/ Accessed on 4 November 2026.

[3] “Apple sees margins falling to 45% as memory chip prices keep climbing – The Next Web” https://thenextweb.com/news/apple-earnings-q4-2026-memory-costs-margins Accessed on 4 November 2026.

[4] “Apple Stock (AAPL) Falls 1.9% on Gross Margin Guidance (Nov 3) – Gotrade” https://www.heygotrade.com/en/news/apple-aapl-stock-news-november-4-2026/ Accessed on 4 November 2026.

[5] “FY26 Q4 Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements – Apple” https://www.apple.com/newsroom/pdfs/fy2026q4/FY26_Q4_Consolidated_Financial_Statements.pdf Accessed on 4 November 2026.

[6] “Apple reports fourth quarter results – Apple Newsroom” https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/11/apple-reports-fourth-quarter-results/ Accessed on 4 November 2026.

[7] “Apple reports fiscal and full year earnings – PhoneArena” https://www.phonearena.com/news/apple-reports-fiscal-and-full-year-earnings_id175356 Accessed on 4 November 2026.

[8] “Apple Dodges Question on More Price Hikes as Memory Costs Climb – MacRumors” https://www.macrumors.com/2026/11/02/apple-memory-costs-increase-december/ Accessed on 4 November 2026.

[9] “Apple stock falls as memory costs push holiday profit margin forecast below estimates – Quartz” https://qz.com/apple-stock-memory-costs-holiday-margin-forecast-110326 Accessed on 4 November 2026.

[10] “Apple Inc. Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1, Q3 FY2026 – U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission” https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000320193/000032019326000018/a8-kex991q3202606272026.htm Accessed on 4 November 2026.

[11] “Release Calendar – South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, LMI” https://lmi.sc.gov/Other-Resources/Release-Calendar Accessed on 4 November 2026.

[12] “US Employment Situation (Non-Farm Payrolls) November 2026 – FinanceCalendar” https://www.financecalendar.com/event/us-employment-situation-non-farm-payrolls-november-2026/ Accessed on 4 November 2026.