Apple falls nearly 2.9% premarket despite earnings beat on memory costs, margin squeeze

The market is looking past the beat and pricing the quality of the earnings: margin pressure from memory costs, softer China and decelerating services all touch the parts of the Apple story that carry the highest multiples. That the stock fell despite headline beats suggests the bar had shifted from growth to profitability and durability. Whether memory cost pressure proves cyclical or structural, and whether services and China stabilize, are the open questions worth watching.