Erste Group Bank Issues Negative Outlook for Apple Earnings

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) – Equities research analysts at Erste Group Bank cut their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for shares of Apple in a report released on Tuesday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the iPhone maker will post earnings per share of $9.32 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $9.34. The consensus estimate for Apple’s current full-year earnings is $7.28 per share.

AAPL has been the subject of several other reports. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Scotiabank set a $330.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.58.

Apple Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $248.80 on Friday. Apple has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $288.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $3.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $260.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $262.47.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 159.94% and a net margin of 27.04%.Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth about $52,266,468,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $17,472,482,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Apple by 98,917.0% in the 2nd quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 57,956,620 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,106,000 after acquiring an additional 57,898,088 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its stake in Apple by 890.7% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 41,984,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $11,413,990,000 after acquiring an additional 37,746,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 20,464.8% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,069,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,553,753,000 after acquiring an additional 26,937,401 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.15%.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush says 2026 could be a significant product year and raises upside potential (they reiterate Outperform and a $350 target), framing WWDC and AI-driven hardware as major catalysts. Apple in focus as Wedbush calls 2026 a ‘significant’ product launch year ahead of WWDC
• Positive Sentiment: Apple hired ex-Google executive Lilian Rincon as VP of product marketing for AI — a concrete senior hire to accelerate Siri/AI positioning and marketing. Apple hires ex-Google executive to head AI marketing amid push to improve Siri
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple will open Siri to rival AI assistants (Gemini, Claude, etc.) in iOS 27 — this pivot can broaden iPhone AI capabilities without Apple building everything in‑house. Apple Plans to Open Up Siri to Rival AI Assistants in iOS 27 Update
• Positive Sentiment: Services continue to grow (reported ~14% y/y, Apple TV and gaming aiding strength) — recurring high‑margin revenue supports earnings upside even if hardware cycles lag. Strong Streaming & Game Content Aids Apple’s Services: What’s Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple expands U.S. manufacturing program, adding Bosch, Cirrus Logic, TDK and Qnity and committing $400M — reduces supply‑chain risk and supports domestic sourcing narrative. Apple adds Bosch, Cirrus Logic, others to US manufacturing program, to invest $400 million
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is granting rare large stock bonuses to iPhone designers to curb talent departures to AI firms — a retention step to protect future product execution. Apple Drops Six Figure Bonuses To Stop iPhone Talent Exodus
• Neutral Sentiment: An analyst tweak: Erste trimmed FY2027 EPS slightly — minimal change to consensus, but worth watching for estimate revisions. Apple Inc. analyst note (Erste Group) via MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Steve Wozniak publicly criticizes AI and says he hardly uses it — a reputational/PR datapoint but unlikely to move fundamentals. Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak admits he’s ‘disappointed a lot’ by AI and hardly uses it
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech sector weakness — Nasdaq slide, Meta legal losses and geopolitical worries are pressuring tech stocks, which is dragging AAPL despite company‑specific positives. Tech stocks suffer worst week in nearly a year, driven down by war worries, Meta legal woes
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Apple has discontinued the Mac Pro and abandoned future updates could concern pro users and niche revenue, though impact on total revenue is limited. Apple reportedly discontinues Mac Pro, abandons plans for future updates

About Apple

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.