Some analysts comments
Apple grabbed attention on Friday after posting better-than-expected results for its fiscal second quarter, with the iPhone 17 range still clearly landing well with customers.
That said, it was the outlook for the next quarter — especially on gross margins — that really caught even the most bullish on Wall Street off guard. In a good way.
Margin worries ease
Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring said Apple’s forecast of 47.5% to 48.5% gross margins for the upcoming quarter — despite “significantly” higher memory costs — came as a nice surprise.
“Revenue and profit strength are holding up, including a standout June quarter margin outlook, which makes us more confident Apple can handle record cost inflation,” he wrote in a note to clients.
He added that the latest results were likely the turning point investors were waiting for, setting the shares up to perform well heading into the September iPhone launch. Woodring kept his Overweight rating and lifted his price target to $330 from $315.
For the next quarter, Apple expects total revenue to grow between 14% and 17% year-on-year — well ahead of the 9.3% analysts had pencilled in. Services revenue should come in roughly in line with the March quarter, even after stripping out favourable currency movements.
On rising memory costs, outgoing CEO Tim Cook said on the earnings call that Apple would “look at a range of options” to manage the impact.
Product momentum and supply chain edge
While margin concerns seem to have eased for now, J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee pointed out that Apple’s product momentum is pretty exceptional at the moment.
“Despite investor concerns, the bigger challenge for Apple looks to be on the supply side — particularly getting hold of advanced processors needed to keep up with stronger-than-expected iPhone demand, and increasingly for Macs too,” he said.
He noted a recent spike in demand for the Mac mini, Mac Studio, and the newly launched MacBook Neo.
Chatterjee also said the upbeat guidance suggests Apple is gaining market share across its product lines, thanks to strong customer demand and better supply chain management — especially when it comes to memory — compared with rivals.
He raised his revenue forecasts, stuck with an Overweight rating, and kept a $325 price target.
Citi analyst Atif Malik said so-called “agentic” AI is boosting demand for Macs, putting Apple in a solid position to benefit from the AI wave. During the earnings call, Apple highlighted strong demand for the Mac mini and Mac Studio tied to AI use cases, while MacBook demand has been “off the charts”.
Given Apple’s sheer scale and buying power, Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers said that’s turning into a real competitive advantage — particularly versus other PC makers.
“We see Apple’s economies of scale as a major plus in the current environment,” he said, pointing to a big jump in long-term purchase commitments, which could signal major supply agreements, including for memory.