Zacks Research Issues Negative Outlook for Apple Earnings

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) - Research analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q2 2025 EPS estimates for Apple in a research note 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 previous 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.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%.

AAPL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Argus upgraded Apple to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. Four research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $244.85.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL traded down $0.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $245.55. 53,102,300 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 49,742,392. The business's 50 day moving average is $240.47 and its 200-day moving average is $232.55. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 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 has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple's payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction 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 $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. O Connor Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,249,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $813,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,260,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,848,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

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.