Apple Stock Outlook: Is Wall Street Bullish or Bearish?

Cupertino, California-based Apple Inc. (AAPL) is experiencing record growth, driven by strong sales of its latest iPhone models and expanding services revenue. The company’s market capitalization is currently very close to the $4 trillion mark ($3.99 trillion to be precise), driven by continued innovation in hardware, software, and artificial intelligence (AI). Apple is also increasing investments in manufacturing in the United States as part of its $600 billion commitment, strengthening its supply chain and technology leadership.

Apple is a favorite of Wall Street and has coveted this position for a long time. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has gained 15.3%, while it is up 7.4% year-to-date (YTD). On October 28, it hit an all-time high of $269.89 and reached a market value of $4 trillion, before closing marginally below that level. This move was driven by the enormous popularity of its new iPhones.

Despite these gains, the stock has generally underperformed the S&P 500 Index ($SPX), which has gained 18.3% over the past 52 weeks and 17.2% year to date. If we focus on the company’s own technology sector, we see that the stock has also underperformed here, while the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) is up 31.2% over the last 52 weeks and 29.9% year to date.

On July 31, Apple reported a stellar third quarter (the quarter ending June 28). The company’s revenue grew 9.6% year over year (y-o-y) to $94.04 billion, beating the $89.53 billion that Wall Street analysts were expecting. Its quarterly earnings per share was $1.57, a year-over-year increase of 12.1% and higher than the expected $1.43.

CEO Tim Cook said Apple saw double-digit growth across iPhone, Mac and Services, with expansion seen across all segments. Despite this, shares fell 2.5% on August 1 amid tariff concerns. Apple reported that it expects to incur about $1.1 billion in tariff costs in the fourth quarter.

For the to-be-reported fiscal year ending September 2025 (which will be reported on October 30 after the market close), Wall Street analysts expect Apple’s EPS to grow 9% year-over-year to $7.36 on a diluted basis, and rise 6.8% to $7.86 in fiscal 2026. The company has a strong track record of beating consensus estimates, surpassing them in the trailing four quarters.

Among the 41 Wall Street analysts covering Apple stock, the consensus is a “moderate buy.” This is based on 22 “Strong Buy” ratings, two “Moderate Buys,” 14 “Holds,” one “Moderate Sell” and two “Strong Sell” ratings. The ratings setup is more optimistic than a month ago, with 22 “Strong Buy” ratings now, up from 19 previously.

After the launch of its new iPhone series, Apple has received some notable price target improvements. JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee raised his price target on the stock from $280 to $290, while maintaining an “overweight” rating on its shares. Baird analyst William Power also raised the price target from $230 to $280, while maintaining an “outperform” rating.

Apple’s average price target of $255.09 indicates a 5.2% drop from current market prices. However, the Street’s high price target of $315 implies a potential upside of 17.1%.

On the date of publication, Anushka Mukherjee did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article are for informational purposes only. This article was originally published on Barchart.com