‘Bears Beware,’ Says Daniel Ives About Apple Stock

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) remains the world’s most valuable company, but its hold on that title has started to look a little shaky. Delays in AI upgrades and next-gen Siri’s rollout, now pushed to later this year, have raised concerns, while a choppy tech market and looming China tariffs add to the uncertainty. The result is a stock that has shed 14% year-to-date.

Watching all the doom and gloom unfold, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives thinks the primary concern for investors is the delay in significant AI developments and the fact that AI will not play a major role in the global iPhone 16 upgrades.

“Clearly Apple has more wood to chop around its Apple Intelligence vision and officially coming to market with its Siri revamp now set for iPhone 17…you get one chance to do this right and Apple/Cook needs perfection before it goes live,” the analyst said.

In a worst-case scenario, Ives thinks Apple’s AI delays could push 10 million iPhone units (~4%) from FY25 into FY26. However, the analyst still anticipates Apple will sell around 225 million to 230 million iPhones in FY25, with a “major growth upward trend” leading to 245 million to 250 million units in FY26.

While investors’ disappointment with the delays is understandable, Ives thinks the sell-off is “way overdone” and it doesn’t alter his “bullish thesis” in any way that 20% of the world’s population will access AI via an Apple device in the coming year. Ives also anticipates that Apple will officially announce Alibaba as its AI partner in China in the coming weeks, which will be crucial for launching the first stages of Apple Intelligence in the region, likely around June.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” the analyst goes on to say, estimating that with hundreds of apps in development around Apple Intelligence, a new multi-billion-dollar annual AI Services revenue stream will emerge (Ives reckons it will be worth $10 billion by 2027). This will serve as “another growth catalyst,” alongside driving iPhone upgrades across the board in the next 12 to 18 months.

“In a nutshell,” Ives summed up, “this is not the time to sell this tech stalwart as in our view the next stage of product and AI driven services growth is still ahead and speaks to our view Apple will make new time highs in 2025 despite the brutal sell-off to start the year.”

Bottom line, Ives rates Apple shares an Outperform (i.e., Buy), backed by a Street-high price target of $325, suggesting the stock will deliver returns of 51% in the year ahead. (To watch Ives’ track record, click here)

The Street’s average target is a more modest $249.88, yet that figure still makes room for 12-month gains of 16%. Based on a mix of 17 Buys, 11 Holds and 4 Sells, the analyst consensus rates the stock a Moderate Buy. (See AAPL stock forecast)

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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.