Zacks Research Has Optimistic Outlook of Apple Q1 Earnings

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) – Zacks Research raised their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for Apple in a research 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 previous 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.

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

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on AAPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Melius Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.25.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $232.87 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $228.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $218.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $3.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.24. Apple has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $237.49.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Castellan Group boosted its position in Apple by 206.9% in the third quarter. Castellan Group now owns 5,782 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after buying an additional 3,898 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,290,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 1,091,062 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $254,217,000 after acquiring an additional 250,514 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth $35,383,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 42.1% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 513,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $119,709,000 after purchasing an additional 152,262 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.