Wedbush Issues Negative Outlook for Apple Earnings

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) – Investment analysts at Wedbush dropped their Q2 2025 earnings estimates for Apple in a report released on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush analyst D. Ives now forecasts that the iPhone maker will post earnings of $1.62 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.69. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $325.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Apple’s current full-year earnings is $7.33 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Apple’s Q3 2025 earnings at $1.55 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.87 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.44 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.70 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.86 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.05 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.35 EPS.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on AAPL. Citigroup lifted their price target on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Maxim Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $242.52.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $232.80 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $241.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.89. Apple has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.95, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

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.