Apple will pay more for memory in the September quarter than in June, Tim Cook said on the July 30 earnings call. Memory costs accounted for more than the entire sequential decline in Apple's adjusted gross margin. Inventory rose to $11.09 billion at the end of June, up 87% year over year, with $5.46 billion spent building that stock over nine months.

Apple has kept a lean working-capital position for two decades. The recent inventory increase is intended to offset rising memory prices. CFO Kevan Parekh said the inventory benefit will shrink after September.

Gross margin fell to 48.1% in June, down from 49.3% in March. Excluding about two percentage points of tariff refunds, the decline is more than 120 basis points and is driven by memory costs. Apple projects a September gross margin of 47%‑48%, including about one percentage point of refunds, giving an adjusted midpoint near 46.5%.

Product revenue increased 18.1% to $78.68 billion, while cost of sales rose 8.1% to $47.15 billion. Product gross margin improved to 40.1% from 34.5%. SK Hynix reported a 76% operating margin on DRAM sales and forecast a 10% sequential rise in DRAM bit shipments for the third quarter. TrendForce expects DRAM contract prices to increase 13%‑18% in the third quarter.

Cook said Apple is evaluating all options for supply flexibility. The DRAM market currently has three major suppliers, and additional suppliers such as CXMT could improve availability and pricing, though the effect on pricing is unclear. He declined to answer whether Apple will pursue long-term agreements with suppliers at pre-agreed prices. Unit supply constraints for September stem from limited capacity of advanced process nodes, which have constrained iPhone, Mac and iPad production, especially Mac. Apple projects revenue growth of 9%‑11% year over year in September, down from 16% in the prior quarter.

Apple has not provided a detailed forecast for its September quarter margin, and the impact of memory pricing and supply constraints remains unclear.