Apple shares fell in late-morning trading after the company forecast a lower gross margin for its December quarter, while U.S. indexes diverged as voters cast ballots in the midterm elections.
At 11:50 a.m. EST Tuesday, Apple was down 2.2%, Reuters reported; the outlet had put its premarket decline at 4.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 232.30 points, or 0.45%, to 51,751.68. The S&P 500 rose 0.40% to 7,571.81, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.79% to 25,361.31, according to Reuters.
Apple's fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 26, and the company reported revenue of $114.5 billion, up 12% from a year earlier, with diluted earnings per share of $2.10, a 14% increase. Gross margin was 47.9%. Apple gave its December-quarter outlook on an earnings call, projecting a 45% to 46% margin and citing higher memory costs and expenses tied to ramping Siri AI.
Apple said tariff refunds added about one percentage point to gross margin and 5 cents per share to earnings. The Associated Press reported that AI data-center construction had increased demand for memory chips, adding to Apple's costs.
Gains also appeared in chip-related trading: Reuters put both Nvidia and the Philadelphia semiconductor index 3% higher at the same snapshot.
Some on Wall Street speculated that a Democratic sweep could bring tighter rules on AI development, the Associated Press reported.
Edward Jones' review found the S&P 500 was higher six months after each of the 14 midterm election cycles since 1970. That past pattern does not determine how the index will perform after the current election. AMD was scheduled to report quarterly results after Tuesday's closing bell, Reuters reported.
