Zacks Research Issues Negative Forecast for Apple Earnings

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for Apple in a report issued on Thursday, May 22nd. Zacks Research analyst A. Ganguly now expects that the iPhone maker will post earnings of $1.41 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.47. The consensus estimate for Apple's current full-year earnings is $7.28 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Apple's Q4 2025 earnings at $1.59 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.05 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.30 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.70 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.71 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.87 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.42 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $2.06 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $8.70 EPS.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. Apple's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on AAPL. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $275.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $170.62 price objective (up from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $235.80.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $201.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.96, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. Apple has a twelve month low of $169.21 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $205.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.12.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Amara Financial LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,972,000. SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its position in Apple by 6.3% during the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 28,626 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its position in Apple by 2.9% during the third quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 3,723,104 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $876,483,000 after purchasing an additional 103,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 21,198 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $5,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. The trade was a 8.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock worth $42,694,080 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Apple's payout ratio is 16.20%.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.

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