Zacks Research Comments on Apple’s Q3 Earnings (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q3 2026 EPS estimates for Apple in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, September 23rd. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the iPhone maker will earn $1.65 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.66. The consensus estimate for Apple’s current full-year earnings is $7.28 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Apple’s FY2026 earnings at $7.57 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.96 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $8.46 EPS.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $94.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Phillip Securities lowered shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Apple from $190.67 to $205.82 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $244.66.

Apple Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Apple stock opened at $252.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $212.78. Apple has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. The trade was a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its position in Apple by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its stake in Apple by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.