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Cupertino, California-based Apple Inc. (AAPL) designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories. Valued at $3.5 trillion by market cap, the company also offers payment, digital content, cloud, and advertising services. The tech giant is expected to announce its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings for 2024 after the market closes on Thursday, October 31.
Ahead of the event, analysts expect AAPL to report a profit of $1.54 per share on a diluted basis, up 5.5% from $1.46 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has consistently surpassed Wall Street’s EPS estimates in its last four quarterly reports. Its EPS of $1.40 surpassed the consensus estimate by 4.5% in the previous quarter.
For the full year, analysts expect AAPL to report EPS of $6.65, up 8.5% from $6.13 in fiscal 2023.
AAPL stock is up 19.9% on a YTD basis, underperforming the S&P 500’s ($SPX) 21.5% gains in 2024. However, it has outpaced the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLK) 18.7% returns over the same time frame.
Apple's shares dropped 3.3% after TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed a reduction of about 10 million units in iPhone 16 orders for late 2024 and early 2025, suggesting weaker-than-expected demand.
On October 15, AAPL rose more than 1% and posted a record high after introducing a new powerful iPad mini built for its Apple Intelligence AI features.
Analysts’ consensus opinion on AAPL stock is reasonably bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” rating overall. Out of 32 analysts covering the stock, 18 advise a “Strong Buy” rating, four suggest a “Moderate Buy” rating, nine give a “Hold” rating, and one recommends a “Strong Sell.”
The average analyst price target for AAPL is $245.13, indicating a 6.2% potential upside from the current levels.
On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
