Apple issued an underwhelming profits outlook and disclosed some soft sales trends during its latest quarterly report, but Wall Street analysts still see a lot to like about the stock. The iPhone maker posted earnings of $2.10 per share for the fiscal fourth quarter, topping the $1.99 expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Revenue came in at $114.48 billion, well above the $113.39 billion anticipated by the Street. iPhone sales — a major revenue driver for Apple — came in at $57.58 billion to exceed analysts’ $56.54 billion consensus estimate. However, iPad and other product sales trailed expectations. The company also underwhelmed the Street with its gross margin forecast for the current quarter. That figure sits between 45% and 46%, below the Street’s average estimate of 46.3%. Shares of Apple slid about 4% in premarket trading, underscoring investors’ disappointment with the company’s outlook and lagging sales across some product types. AAPL YTD mountain Apple shares are up about 24% year to date. However, the firm’s mixed results appear to be a temporary blip in a promising path forward for Apple and its shares, according to Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Ng “We come away from results with increased confidence in the critical iPhone refresh cycle, including a multi-year opportunity for the iPhone Duo and the foldable form factor,” Ng said Monday in a note to clients. “That said, offsets to the favorable iPhone demand backdrop include near-term Services headwinds from App Store and softer 3P licensing (i.e. TAC) were worse-than-expected and memory cost inflation will continue to be a multi-quarter overhang.” Goldman has a buy rating on the technology stock. It lowered its price target on shares to $380 from $390, which implies upside of more than 12% from Monday’s close. Here is what other analysts are saying about Apple. Evercore ISI: Outperform rating, $380 target “AAPL’s Sept-qtr print reinforced our view that underlying hardware demand remains healthy (despite price increase), but the debate is increasingly shifting toward margins & EPS power as memory costs rise, Services growth moderates and Siri AI costs start to flow into the model. Structurally, we expect AAPL to navigate a choppy GM environment till we start to see memory pricing stabilize (or come down) and/or Siri AI unlocks incremental monetization.” Bernstein: Outperform, $370 “We remain cautious on Apple in the near term, as accelerating memory cost inflation pressure gross margins. Nevertheless, we remain bullish on Apple long-term and reiterate our Outperform rating. We continue to view Apple as the gateway to the consumer on-device intelligence revolution, uniquely positioned at the intersection of hardware, software, and AI, with a premium installed base of over 2.5bn active devices.” Barclays: Underweight, $261 The bank raised its price target from $245, though its new forecast still points to a 23% decline. “We are most concerned about the trends in Services. Recall in the June quarter, App Store was not mentioned as one of the top three revenue contributors for only the third time in the last decade. We believe there is pressure from regulatory changes in the EU and the US related to link out transactions.” Bank of America: Buy, $370 “Despite supply constraints impacting iPhone, iPad and Macs, Apple delivered a strong F4Q26 with iPhone revs growing 17%y/y (double digit growth in the U.S. and Greater China). Apple guided F1Q27 revs to $154-158bn (+7-10% y/y), higher than the Street at $153bn as iPhone rev growth remains strong driven by units (despite staggered launch) and higher ASPs.” Citi: Buy, $365 “Despite the mixed outlook, we remain constructive on Apple’s long-term trajectory, supported by its ability to gain share and further drive engagement and monetization of their installed base through both third-party application, partnerships as well as first party services (for e.g. iCloud+ plans, enhanced Siri AI capabilities).” JPMorgan: Overweight, $355 target The bank trimmed its price target from $360, with its new forecast pointing to upside of 5% from Monday’s close. “The positive drivers of a stronger hardware product cycle will lead to a stronger growth outlook for the installed base, which drives the opportunity for a recovery in the Services growth trajectory through a broadening of offerings and across geographies, overcoming the near-term headwinds. We are reiterating our Overweight rating on the shares long-term with the strength of the hardware product cycle enabling Apple to steadily deliver to a Services opportunity in line with investor expectations as it continues to roll-out and further refine its innovation associated with Siri AI in conjunction with the related monetization.” Morgan Stanley: Overweight, $350 Morgan Stanley lowered its target from $355. “Stepping back, we don’t believe tonight’s results will do much to shift the balance of power between Apple bears and bulls. Bulls will point to Dec Q revenue upside, capex downside / strong FCF generation, and the persistent strength of Apple’s most critical product – the iPhone. Bears will understandably point to the cont’d Services deceleration / agentic risk, memory cost headwinds, and a lack of real EPS revisions post-quarter. Both perspectives bring truth, though we find ourselves leaning more in the constructive camp for now.”
Apple is falling on its latest earnings report. Why most analysts still like the stock
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