Apple has been outperforming. But, the good times could soon end, Daiwa says
Apple notched record growth in its latest fiscal year, leading its shares higher. But the stock’s rally could soon lose steam, according to Daiwa Capital Markets. The investment firm still has an outperform rating on the iPhone maker and it raised its 12-month price target to $375 from $335. However, that new target suggests just 9% upside from Thursday’s close. “How long can the good times [at Apple] last,” analyst Louis Miscioscia wrote in a note dated Thursday to clients. “Till April 27. The Dec and Mar quarters should be ok [due to] backorder/channel fill. After that [it] gets tougher [because of] tough comps, higher memory costs.” Apple has been on a tear in 2026. Its stock is up nearly 27% year to date due to stronger-than-expected demand for the company’s iPhone 17. The stock has recently outperformed other tech shares weighed down by fears of an AI slowdown. AAPL YTD mountain Shares are up about 27% in 2026. On Monday, Apple also blew past expectations for its fiscal 2026 . The company reported revenue of $478 billion for the fiscal year, marking a roughly 15% increase year over year. However, shares of Apple edged down following its earnings report due to concerns about macroeconomic headwinds that look likely to foil the firm’s future growth. Apple is contending with rising memory costs and supply constraints for critical hardware components, which could kneecap its growth in 2027 and put pressure on shares, according to Daiwa. “Prior contracts/inventory helped Apple hold the line on costs/margins, but this gets harder in 2027,” Miscioscia said in his note. He added that “Apple’s iPhone product releases are doing well, but the new Duo seems very supply-constrained.” The analyst also noted that Apple has not delivered two back-to-back years of double-digit growth since fiscal year 2015. Daiwa’s call is in line with consensus on Wall Street. Of the 43 analysts covering Apple, 25 have a buy or strong buy rating on the stock, LSEG data shows.
