GoKawiilApple inventory jumps 154% year-over-year as memory costs squeeze margins
Apple's fiscal Q4 earnings showed inventory, led by computer memory, rising 31.1% quarter-over-quarter to $14.54 billion and 154.3% year-over-year from $5.72 billion. Executives said higher memory costs will pressure gross margin, forecasting 45%-46% for the December quarter versus 47.9% in September. CEO John Ternus called current memory pricing conditions 'unprecedented' and said purchase obligations rose $33 billion from June to September.