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) - Equities research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for Apple in a research 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 forecast 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.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. China Renaissance started coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.25.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL traded down $5.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $202.38. 97,423,066 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 44,912,472. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.17. The business's 50-day moving average price is $205.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $213.60. Apple has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The company 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.78%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,877,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its stake in Apple by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC grew its stake in Apple by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 27,298 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $6,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,647 shares during the period. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $13,544,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Apple by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $134,554,000 after acquiring an additional 69,207 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.