On July 26th, Caixin reported that US investment bank Baird has raised its target stock price for tech giant Apple, stating that its artificial intelligence program - known as Apple Intelligence - has the opportunity to boost iPhone sales.
Baird analyst William Power wrote in an investor report, "We estimate that nearly 95% of iPhones worldwide will need to be upgraded at some point to better utilize Apple's intelligence. In addition, other Apple devices such as Mac and iPad will also benefit from it
Power has also raised its target price for Apple from $200 to $240 and maintained its' outperform the market 'rating for the stock.
As of the close of the US stock market on Thursday (July 25th), Apple fell 0.48%, and before Friday (July 26th), Apple's stock price slightly rose. Last week, Apple's stock price hit a new historical high. Since the launch of "Apple Intelligence" at the World Developers Conference (WWDC) one month ago, Apple's stock price has continued to rise.
Power pointed out that users of major mobile communication companies in the United States, AT&T and Verizon, have had consistently low phone upgrade rates in recent years, indicating that consumers may be waiting for artificial intelligence features to enter their smartphones.
Power added, "As the upgrade cycle of smartphones extends for several years, the models on iPhone users' hands are generally older, so more than 1 billion iPhone users worldwide may welcome an upgrade catalyst
Therefore, Power has raised its forecast for iPhone sales in the fiscal year 2025 by approximately 20 million units, with an expected iPhone revenue of $216.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9%, higher than the general expectation of 6%. And Power also expects Apple's full year revenue for fiscal year 2025 to reach $418.1 billion, with earnings per share of $7.30, higher than the previously estimated $394.6 billion and $6.73.
Apple is scheduled to announce its third quarter financial results for the 2024 fiscal year after market hours on August 1st. Analysts generally expect the company's revenue to be $84.12 billion and earnings per share to be $1.33.