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Of 12 analysts covering Apple stock tracked by Visible Alpha, nine have a buy or equivalent rating
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Apple is scheduled to report quarterly results after the closing bell Thursday.
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Three-quarters of analysts tracked by Visible Alpha have a buy or equivalent rating for Apple stock.
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The iPhone maker is expected to report 4% revenue growth driven by improving services revenue and iPhone sales.
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Morgan Stanley analysts say they don’t expect Apple to mirror Google parent Alphabet in raising its AI infrastructure spending.
Apple (AAPL) is scheduled to report fiscal third-quarter results after the closing bell Thursday, with analysts are largely bullish on the iPhone maker’s stock despite lingering tariff questions.
Of the 12 analysts covering Apple stock tracked by Visible Alpha, nine have a buy or equivalent rating, alongside two hold ratings and one sell. The consensus price target near $233 implies 9% upside over the stock’s intraday price near $215.
Goldman Sachs, which has a bullish $251 target on Apple stock, said “[s]ervices revenue growth should be resilient” and that new AI features, like live translation across Messages, Phone, and FaceTime expected this fall, will lift demand for iPhone upgrades.
The Street expects Apple’s June quarter revenue to have grown 4% year-over-year to $89.34 billion, including $40.23 billion in iPhone sales (2% growth) and $26.82 billion in services revenue (11% growth).
That said, Apple needs to “get past key overhangs,” Morgan Stanley analysts said last week. The bank cautioned that the Trump administration could soon subject Apple to Section 232 tariffs, which are tied to national security concerns and have held up better in court than country-specific duties.
Morgan Stanley maintained a buy rating and $235 price target, putting it slightly above the analyst consensus. HSBC, meanwhile, kept a hold rating and $220 target, pointing to the same regulatory uncertainty in a recent note to clients.
Investors will be also watching for any progress on—or increased investment in—Apple Intelligence, which has been dogged by Siri delays and a lack of availability in China.
However, while Google owner Alphabet (GOOGL) raised its projected capital expenditures to $85 billion from $75 billion last week, Morgan Stanley said it doesn’t expect a similar move from Apple.
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