Apple Q4 Inventory Jumps 154% YoY as Ternus Flags Memory Costs Climbing Through December

On Apple's Nov 2 Q4 earnings call, CEO John Ternus called memory pricing 'unprecedented' and said he expects 'even higher memory costs' in the December quarter and beyond as AI data center demand drains supply. Apple's inventory ballooned to $14.54B — up 31.1% QoQ and 154.3% YoY from $5.72B a year earlier — as the company stockpiles components ahead of the squeeze.