Zacks Research Predicts Apple's Q1 Earnings (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Key Points

• Zacks Research has increased its Q1 2026 earnings estimate for Apple to $2.32 per share, up from $2.30, and has also forecasted future earnings for subsequent quarters through FY2027.
• Apple's net margin stands at 24.30% with a return on equity of 167.24%, indicating strong profitability relative to its equity.
• The company has announced a $100 billion stock buyback plan, reflecting confidence from its board in the stock's valuation.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q1 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Apple in a report issued on Wednesday, July 30th. Zacks Research analyst A. Ganguly now expects that the iPhone maker will post earnings per share of $2.32 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $2.30. The consensus estimate for Apple's current full-year earnings is $7.28 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Apple's Q1 2027 earnings at $2.40 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $2.02 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $2.00 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $8.59 EPS.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 172.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Apple from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America upped their price target on Apple from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. China Renaissance began coverage on Apple in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 target price for the company. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.25.

Apple Stock Down 2.5%

NASDAQ AAPL traded down $5.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $202.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 97,423,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,912,472. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $205.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Apple has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.71, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Apple by 0.6% in the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,199,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple by 28.3% in the 1st quarter. Avid Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 930 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Apple by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 189,282 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $42,045,000 after acquiring an additional 5,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp grew its position in shares of Apple by 3,368.2% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $113,062,000 after buying an additional 438,471 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total value of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.