Erste Group Bank Has Positive View of Apple FY2026 Earnings

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) – Analysts at Erste Group Bank upped their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Apple in a research report issued on Thursday, August 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the iPhone maker will earn $8.85 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $8.84. The consensus estimate for Apple’s current full-year earnings is $8.76 per share.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.57 EPS.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $245.00 target price (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Tigress Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.53.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $316.85 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $312.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. Apple has a one year low of $225.95 and a one year high of $344.57. The company has a market cap of $4.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. lifted its position in Apple by 3.7% in the second quarter. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. now owns 7,129 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,063,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 8.0% in the second quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 7,544 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,183,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Formuepleje A S purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth about $22,316,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.6% during the second quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 18,595 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,381,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HORAN Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the second quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 103,493 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $29,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.95, for a total value of $447,457.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 37,229 shares in the company, valued at $11,576,357.55. This represents a 3.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 4,433 shares of company stock worth $1,367,024 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 12.39%.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s leadership handoff could support innovation: Ternus is a longtime hardware executive and product builder, while Cook will remain with Apple as executive chairman. Investors are also looking ahead to the company’s September 9 product event, which could feature new iPhones and other devices. Apple To Begin New Chapter With CEO John Ternus
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlight continuing operating strengths, including strong iPhone share, potential gains as global smartphone shipments weaken, robust recent earnings, and increased fiscal-year EPS estimates. Apple’s planned U.S. manufacturing and AI-server investment could also reduce tariff and supply-chain exposure. Global Phone Shipments Drop, but Apple Positioned for Record iOS Market Share Gain
• Neutral Sentiment: Cook’s departure is being viewed as both a successful succession plan and a major test. His final message endorsed Ternus and emphasized continuity, but investors will judge the new CEO quickly based on the fall product cycle, Siri and Apple’s broader AI strategy. John Ternus to lead Apple into the age of AI
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s AI strategy remains a key concern because it relies substantially on outside partners while rivals are perceived as farther ahead. At the same time, veteran executive Phil Schiller relinquished oversight of the App Store and product events, adding uncertainty during the CEO change. Apple’s top App Store executive departs operational roles
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory costs reportedly prompted significant Mac and iPad price increases, potentially pressuring demand. Apple also disclosed allegations in a trade-secret lawsuit that an OpenAI employee accessed a circuit schematic, creating legal and competitive-risk headlines. Apple alleges OpenAI employee accessed circuit plans
• Negative Sentiment: Monday’s wider market selloff, linked to escalating U.S.-Iran tensions, also weighed on large technology stocks and added pressure to AAPL.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.