Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Outlook for Apple Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research has upgraded its Q2 2026 earnings estimate for Apple to $1.72 per share, reflecting increasing confidence in the company's financial performance.
• Apple's current full-year earnings estimate stands at $7.28 per share, with future quarterly earnings predictions indicating ongoing growth.
• Recent analyst ratings show a consensus of Moderate Buy with a target price of $248.29, supported by positive evaluations from several brokerages.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q2 2026 earnings per share estimates for Apple in a report issued on Monday, October 13th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the iPhone maker will post earnings of $1.72 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.71. 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 $2.24 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.90 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $2.01 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $8.02 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AAPL. Wedbush set a $310.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. CLSA upgraded Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, October 5th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.29.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $247.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $238.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.04. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.09. Apple has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.Apple's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,537 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank boosted its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 18,011 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,695,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total value of $33,375,798.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 254,922 shares of company stock valued at $64,320,190. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Apple's payout ratio is 15.78%.

Apple Company Profile

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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