The Wall Street Journal: Rising Storage Chip Prices Actually Boost Apple's iPhone Profits
The Wall Street Journal estimates that the $600 price hike for upgrading the iPhone 18 Pro from 256 GB to 1 TB would yield Apple an extra $408 in profit—a 300% margin—given a flash memory cost increase of about $192. For the previous iPhone 17 Pro, the same upgrade carried a $400 premium with a mere $42 cost increase. While Apple acknowledges that rising memory chip prices are squeezing gross margins, institutions estimate its flash memory spending will reach around $25 billion in 2026, with…
The Wall Street Journal: Rising Storage Chip Prices Are Actually Boosting Apple's iPhone Profits
The Wall Street Journal calculated that upgrading the iPhone 18 Pro from 256 GB to 1 TB will cost an extra $600, while the incremental cost of the flash memory is only about $192. This means Apple will earn an additional $408, representing a 300% profit margin. For the previous generation, the iPhone 17 Pro, the price difference for the same upgrade was $400, with an incremental cost of just $42.
Apple has acknowledged that the rise in storage chip prices is squeezing its gross margins. However, industry estimates suggest that its flash memory procurement spending in 2026 will be around $25 billion, and its gross margin is expected to decline by only 1 percentage point.
Source: Landian Original Article
