Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Outlook for Apple Earnings

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q2 2025 earnings estimates for Apple in a research report issued on Thursday, February 20th. Zacks Research analyst A. Ganguly now anticipates that the iPhone maker will post earnings of $1.59 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.68. The consensus estimate for Apple’s current full-year earnings is $7.28 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Apple’s Q3 2025 earnings at $1.47 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.72 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.28 EPS and Q1 2027 earnings at $2.51 EPS.

Several other brokerages have also commented on AAPL. Moffett Nathanson restated a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price target (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $245.55 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $240.47 and its 200-day moving average is $232.55. Apple has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.87%.

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.