Apple shares slide after weak margin outlook; Palantir slumps 8% after earnings

Apple and Palantir shares fell in premarket trading Tuesday after both announced earnings after the bell on Monday.

The iPhone maker reported better-than-expected revenue in its fourth-quarter earnings, but fell short of estimates on iPad sales and issued a margin forecast that disappointed investors.

Palantir beat Wall Street's third-quarter estimates, with U.S. commercial revenue topping government for the first time.

Apple was last trading 3.8% lower, and Palantir was down 7.8% in premarket trading.

Apple's earnings

Apple's statement marked the first earnings report since John Ternus took over as CEO from Tim Cook in September.

The company is reckoning with a global memory crunch and a scramble for computer components. Memory costs were higher this quarter than in the June period, the company said Monday. Despite the surge in pricing, Ternus said Apple had just capped off its "best fiscal year ever."

He told CNBC's MacKenzie Sigalos that Apple's growth came in spite of supply constraints and foreign exchange headwinds.

"The concern is profitability," said Violeta Todorova, senior research analyst at Leverage Shares. "Management pointed to memory as the main pressure, together with the cost of rolling out Siri AI. Memory shortages are also expected to limit Mac and iPad supply, as demand has run ahead of plans."

Apple shares have risen 25% in 2026, ahead of other big tech names, but that premium leaves "little room for disappointment," Todorova added.

Palantir slump

Revenue nearly doubled from a year ago and blew past $2 billion for the first time ever, Palantir said in its earnings report. But the company also reported a slowdown in U.S. commercial total contract value, or TCV, bookings growth, said William Blair in a Tuesday note.

Investors will "no doubt be looking for evidence in subsequent quarters that 11% growth in U.S. commercial TCV bookings is a fluke of duration and not something structural," a Piper Sandler note from Monday said. "We believe that is the case and demand for PLTR's solutions still very much outstrip supply."