Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Outlook for Apple Earnings

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) – Zacks Research boosted their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Apple in a report issued on Thursday, November 21st. Zacks Research analyst A. Ganguly now forecasts that the iPhone maker will post earnings of $2.23 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.08. The consensus estimate for Apple’s current full-year earnings is $7.43 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Apple’s Q3 2025 earnings at $1.54 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.79 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.24 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.26 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.96 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.96 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.17 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $8.36 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $10.40 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on AAPL. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Moffett Nathanson reduced their target price on Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, New Street Research reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.25.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $235.06 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $228.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.01. Apple has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $77,000. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at $42,309,126.60. This represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 408,170 shares of company stock worth $92,007,745. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

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.