Apple earnings updates: Stock rises as Wall Street watches for China iPhone sales, services business updates

Wedbush says iPhone turnaround is possible despite China weakness

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a recent note that the concern over Apple’s reportedly weak China iPhone sales is “way overdone.”

“Our recent Apple iPhone China checks are mixed to softer, but overall unit declines in the region we see as ‘manageable,'” Ives said, adding that he expects the company to meet Wall Street’s fiscal first-quarter revenue and profit expectations.

“We also believe Apple should have a strong performance on the services front which is the linchpin to the $4.5 trillion sum of the parts valuation we see over the next 12 to 18 months,” Ives added.

Ives said the continued rollout of Apple’s AI features is underappreciated by investors. He expects about 20% of the world’s population will access AI features via an Apple device in the coming years.

“What the bears continue to miss on Apple is its golden installed base of 1.5 billion iPhones and 2.3 billion iOS devices is unmatched and will create a new AI driven growth story that the Street is not factoring into the stock,” Ives said.

Wedbush rates Apple at “Outperform” with a $325 price target.