Equities Analysts Issue Forecasts for Apple Q1 Earnings

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) – Analysts at KeyCorp boosted their Q1 2027 EPS estimates for Apple in a report released on Monday, July 13th. KeyCorp analyst B. Nispel now forecasts that the iPhone maker will post earnings of $3.10 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $2.93. KeyCorp has a “Underweight” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Apple’s current full-year earnings is $8.74 per share. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Apple’s Q2 2027 earnings at $2.07 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.93 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $1.97 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $9.08 EPS.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other analysts have also commented on AAPL. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, June 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $313.11.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $314.86 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.07, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $301.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $275.89. Apple has a twelve month low of $201.50 and a twelve month high of $323.45.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after acquiring an additional 26,856,752 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after purchasing an additional 6,555,392 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,103 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $62,659,118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379,651 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $52,266,468,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,675,650. The trade was a 10.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,924 shares of company stock worth $825,546. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.06%.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target on Apple to $365 and kept a Buy rating, citing continued market share gains, resilient demand, and an upcoming iPhone 18 cycle that could support further upside.
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s stock has been buoyed by reports that it is defying broader smartphone weakness, with stronger premium iPhone shipments and gains in China helping reinforce the company’s growth story.
• Positive Sentiment: China’s cyberspace regulator said Apple Intelligence has been registered for use on iPhones in China, a step that could improve Apple’s AI positioning in a key market. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also pointed to Apple’s relative restraint on AI spending as a strength, arguing it may avoid the capex pressure facing peers while still setting up a potential iPhone upgrade cycle.
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s legal fight with OpenAI may also be viewed as strategically positive for Apple if it slows a potential competitor’s hardware push.
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI’s reported move into a screen-free smart speaker highlights a new competitive threat in consumer hardware, but the impact on Apple is still speculative. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports of fund managers trimming Apple stakes are worth noting, but they do not yet point to a broad shift in fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: KeyBanc downgraded Apple to Underweight, warning that hardware demand is slowing, Services growth is decelerating, and valuation looks stretched after the stock’s run to record highs.
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI creates legal uncertainty and raises questions about how disruptive the dispute could become for Apple’s AI strategy and industry relationships.
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts now argue that the stock may be overextended after a sharp rally, increasing the risk of near-term profit taking.

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.