Wall Street analysts see Apple meeting expectations with its September-quarter results on Thursday, but they are increasingly pessimistic about the December quarter. Still, Apple stock rose on Monday.
Weakening macroeconomic conditions and cautious consumer spending are pressuring Apple's hardware sales, several analysts say.
On Monday, Barclays analyst Tim Long reiterated his equal-weight rating on Apple stock but trimmed his price target to 166 from 167.
On the stock market today, Apple stock climbed 1.2% to close at 170.29.
Long predicted in-line September-quarter results but sees a weaker December-quarter outlook. Apple is experiencing softening hardware demand, including for the iPhone 15 series handsets, he said in a client note.
Estimates Coming Down For Holiday Quarter
"We could begin to hear about more negative iPhone 15 build revisions in November and December," Long said. "We are in the camp that iPhone 15 is not a good cycle on demand weakness and elongation of replacement cycles."
Also Monday, Oppenheimer analyst Martin Yang lowered his price target on Apple stock to 200 from 220 but kept his outperform rating.
In a note to clients, Yang said he sees "near-term weakness" in Apple's iPhone, Mac and wearables businesses. As a result, he cut his forecasts for Apple's fiscal 2024, which starts with the December quarter.
Apple Stock Analysts Mixed On Prospects
KeyBanc Capital Market analyst Brandon Nispel maintained his sector weight, or neutral, rating on Apple stock.
"Our concerns are less around fiscal Q4 2023 results, where we are generally in line, and more around fiscal Q1 2024 guidance," Nispel said in a client note. He expects weakness across all hardware categories in the holiday sales quarter. In China, Apple's iPhone sales have been hurt by resurgent domestic rivals, including Huawei, he said.
Elsewhere, JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee reiterated his overweight, or buy, rating on Apple stock.
"Sentiment has turned more challenging for shares of Apple in recent days with increasing concerns around the lower demand for the iPhone 15 series in China, as well as lackluster consumer spending momentum globally," Chatterjee said in a client note.
He expects services growth to help offset declining hardware sales in the September and December quarters.
"While the focus remains on hardware revenues, and particularly iPhone revenues, we expect services to continue to be the underappreciated driver of the financials," Chatterjee said.
Apple Stock Catalysts: New Macs, Earnings
Meanwhile, on Monday evening, Apple plans to introduce new Mac computers. The new models are likely to include the company's M3 processor. They will include a refresh of the company's iMac desktops and MacBook Pro notebooks, according to news reports.
Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple plans to release its fiscal fourth-quarter results late Thursday. Analysts expect Apple to earn $1.39 a share, up 8% year over year, on sales of $89.3 billion, down 1%, in the September quarter. Heading into the report, Apple's sales have fallen for three straight quarters on a year-over-year basis.
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