Apple

By Emily Bary Investors don’t necessarily need to ‘step in front of’ earnings, but BofA says they could buy any pullback ahead of ‘biggest WWDC ever’ Apple Inc. is expected to beat expectations for its March quarter but deliver disappointing guidance for the June quarter, according to a Morgan Stanley analyst. That prospect already seems priced into Apple’s stock (AAPL), Morgan Stanley’s Erik Woodring wrote in a note to clients Monday, but he nonetheless sees a “tricky setup” in light of recent market volatility. See also: Some Apple Vision Pro users suffer black eyes, headaches and neck pain Apple shares have fallen 14% over the past three months, and sentiment has gotten more negative. Investors are looking ahead to the company’s WWDC event in June that’s expected to bring an artificial-intelligence announcement. “As a result, there’s a chance Apple could see a relief rally/squeeze higher on a ‘better-than-feared’ earnings report/guide,” […]

Apple is looking to a crop of enterprise customers, including retailer Lowe’s and software maker SAP, to showcase the Vision Pro’s usefulness to corporate buyers, and justify its $3,500 price. Though adoption by a wide business audience remains tricky. Cisco built an app for the “mixed-reality” headset, but says it only selectively handed out a small number of headsets inside the company. “It’s not like every desk at Cisco has a Vision Pro,” said Jeetu Patel, general manager of Cisco’s security and collaboration products.

By Jiahui Huang and Ben Otto Apple’s global smartphone shipments hit the skids in the first quarter, toppling the tech giant from its top position globally and raising concerns about a crucial business line amid rising competition from Chinese rivals. Apple’s iPhone shipments fell 9.6% on year to 50.1 million units in the first quarter, according to preliminary data from research firm International Data Corporation late Sunday. Samsung’s shipments fell 0.7% to 60.1 million units, enough for the South Korean company to reclaim its status as the number one seller of smartphones worldwide, IDC said in its quarterly tracking of smartphone shipments. Apple had overtaken Samsung in the fourth quarter. Apple’s market share fell to 17.3% from 20.7% a year ago, while Samsung’s fell to 20.8% from 22.5%. The declines in the two companies’ market share come even as total shipments of the top five makers of smartphones expanded for

Wedbush’s Dan Ives believes that Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) installed user base of over 2 billion is the “best” in the world as far as its AI opportunity is concerned. What Happened: Ives thinks Apple’s upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June will be a “key moment” for Cupertino. Ives thinks Apple will unveil a “key part” of its AI strategy at WWDC. “I believe [it] ultimately goes to an AI App Store… which is going to be… developers, they’re going to build apps,” Ives said in an interview with Hankyung Global Market, adding that the services category is going to be a “huge opportunity” for Apple. Although Apple has been slow to adopt AI in its portfolio of devices and services, unlike its rivals Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Microsoft Corp., Ives believes Cupertino will take that leap with the iPhone 16 that is all set to launch in September this year. “They will not be on the

BofA analyst Wamsi Mohan maintained a Buy rating on Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) with a price target of $225. Mohan noted that historically, Apple investors have tended to look at existing products and the profitability associated with those products and services to measure the company’s future performance. He went back to 2018 to see where the 2023 consensus gross margins were in 2018. The Street was modeling fiscal 2023 gross margins for Apple at 39%, but Apple printed 44% gross margins, significantly exceeding (500bps) original expectations. Mohan noted that the Street continues to underestimate Apple’s long-term gross margin potential across both products and Services yet again. He emphasized about 180bps of Product gross margin upside and about 150bps of Services margin upside over the next few years. He noted that Apple’s gross margins are headed significantly higher, driven by an increased mix of services within the overall portfolio, which should account for about 60bps

CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows: Shares are up 4%, partly reflecting a Bloomberg report citing AAPL is looking to revamp its entire Mac line-up with its next generation M4 processors (M3 launched late last year), in an effort, we believe, to offer on-device AI. We view this as a positive development as it could offer upside to pricing and revenue within Macs, as the M3 injected a minimal performance boost. We think the news also suggests that AAPL is poised to unveil a slew of AI tools to developers at its WWDC this June. In our view, AAPL is looking to generate higher revenue by injecting new on-device AI capabilities across iPhones and other higher-end devices to spur consumers to pay up this fall. Separately, AAPL is set to refresh its entire

Emily Dattilo Apple stock is having a rough year, but sentiment is beginning to improve, J.P. Morgan argued. Analysts led by Samik Chatterjee trimmed their December 2024 price target to $210 from $215 and reiterated an Overweight rating on shares of the iPhone maker in a Thursday research report. Fundamentals have been weighing on the stock, including slowing iPhone sales in China, and the company stepping back on its plans for a car, analysts explained. The new $210 price target is based on a multiple of about 29 times J.P. Morgan’s calendar 2025 earnings estimate, “but implies a more reasonable” 25 times multiple of the analysts’ fiscal 2026 earnings estimate, “which is more in line with the multiple the shares have traded at following the 5G [wireless] cycle momentum.” There are reasons to remain bullish on the shares, J.P. Morgan noted. First, the valuation premium is settling — with Apple

Apple is facing one of the more difficult China demand environments Wedbush has seen in the last five years, but there are still a few reasons to be bullish, say analysts in a research note. The iPhone maker is contending with competitor Huawei gaining market share, geopolitical tensions that’s created a difficult selling environment, but Wedbush says current iPhone estimates for 2024 “remain hittable with 2025 Street estimates conservative.” The analysts also say the services business remains solid and artificial intelligence is “finally coming to Apple,” with a major AI announcement expected at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

By Callum Keown Apple plans to lay off more than 600 workers in California, weeks after scrapping its electric car and smartwatch display projects. The tech giant filed a number of notices to the state detailing the planned job cuts, Apple’s first significant layoffs since the pandemic. The workers, based across eight offices in Santa Clara, were told on March 28 and the layoffs are effective from May 27, according to the filings. While it’s not clear which projects the layoffs relate to, Santa Clara was home to the company’s secretive car project and next-generation screen development, Bloomberg reported. The closure of both projects in recent weeks is a blow to Apple and makes the success of its next big idea even more crucial — particularly as its looks to develop its artificial-intelligence credentials. The stock has been under pressure this year and Apple may need an AI innovation to

Apple (AAPL) Pay Later is now included on Stripe as a default option for merchants, positioning the company for greater connectivity in e-commerce and with small and medium businesses, Macquarie said in a Thursday note. The investment firm said the integration is a “further validation” of buy now, pay later, or BNPL, as a payment option given Apple’s increasing share of this segment. As for Stripe, Macquarie said the addition of Apple Pay Later represents transaction volume potential.

Apple Says EU Commission’s Decision Does Not Address Co’s Ability To Charge Commission For All The Tools, Technologies And Ongoing Services Apple Provides.