Tech giant Apple (AAPL) is scheduled to announce its results for the first quarter of Fiscal 2025 on January 30. The iPhone maker’s shares have risen more than 19% over the past year, underperforming several other tech rivals. Concerns about slowing iPhone revenue growth and intense competition in key markets like China are impacting investor sentiment. Analysts expect AAPL’s Q1 FY25 EPS (earnings per share) to rise 8% year-over-year to $2.35.
Invest with Confidence:
- Follow TipRanks' Top Wall Street Analysts to uncover their success rate and average return.
- Join thousands of data-driven investors – Build your Smart Portfolio for personalized insights.
Further, Wall Street expects Apple’s first-quarter revenue to rise by 3.8% to $124.28 billion. Analysts expect continued strength in the Services business, which carries a higher margin than the Products business.
Analysts’ Sentiment Ahead of Apple’s Q1 FY25 Earnings
Heading into Q1 FY25 results, Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan lowered his price target for AAPL stock to $253 from $256 but maintained a Buy rating. Mohan expects Apple to deliver strong results, backed by the initial demand for iPhone 16. Notably, Wamsi has a higher revenue estimate of $126 billion compared to the Street’s consensus, as he expects iPhone units sold to come in at 79 million, above the consensus estimate of 77 million.
However, Mohan lowered his Q2 FY25 iPhone units estimate to 49 million from 56 million due to a weak macro backdrop and the staggered launch of Apple Intelligence features. Despite weakness in iPhone sales, the analyst remains bullish on Apple stock due to resilient margins, gross margin tailwinds, and robust cash flow.
Similarly, Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Ng lowered the price target for Apple stock to $280 from $286 and reiterated a Buy rating. The analyst expects Q1 FY25 EPS and revenue to be in line with the Street’s estimates. He expects forecast 1% year-over-year growth in iPhone revenue growth, as lower shipments are expected to be more than offset by a rise in iPhone’s average selling price. Further, he estimates double-digit growth in Services, with App Store spending growing 15% and enough room for continued adoption of Apple’s services.
Despite intense rivalry in the Chinese smartphone market, Ng is optimistic about the potential for accelerating iPhone growth in FY 2026, driven by new product innovation for iPhone 17/18 and the continued rollout of Apple Intelligence to new markets with a more attractive feature set.
Here’s What Options Traders Expect
Using TipRanks’ Options tool, we can see what options traders are expecting from the stock immediately after its earnings report. The expected earnings move is determined by calculating the at-the-money straddle of the options closest to expiration after the earnings announcement. If this sounds complicated, don’t worry, the Options tool does this for you.
Indeed, it currently says that options traders are expecting a 4.7% move in either direction in reaction to Apple’s Q1 FY25 results.
Is Apple a Good Stock to Buy?
Overall, Wall Street is cautiously optimistic about Apple stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 19 Buys, seven Holds, and four Sells. The average AAPL stock price target of $243.24 implies nearly 6% upside potential.
