Apple Stock Up 20% in 2025 but Analysts Split on Outlook
AAPL has outpaced the S&P 500 year-to-date, yet Wall Street analysts remain divided as App Store concerns cloud the foldable iPhone launch.
Apple Inc. shares have surged nearly 20% year-to-date as of September 2, nearly doubling the S&P 500's 11.78% gain over the same period — but that outperformance has not silenced debate among Wall Street analysts about what comes next for the Cupertino tech giant.
Evercore ISI moved to reaffirm its Outperform rating on AAPL on September 2, signaling confidence in the company's longer-term trajectory. Still, the endorsement came alongside broader analyst disagreement, with App Store revenue softness emerging as a key sticking point for those taking a more cautious view.
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The mixed sentiment arrives at a pivotal moment for Apple, which is widely expected to enter the competitive foldable smartphone market. A foldable iPhone launch would represent one of the most significant hardware pivots in the company's recent history, potentially opening a new revenue stream — but also carrying meaningful execution risk in a category already contested by Samsung and other rivals.
App Store performance matters disproportionately to Apple's growth story because services revenue has become central to the company's strategy for sustaining margins as iPhone hardware sales cycles lengthen. Any sustained weakness in that segment could weigh on the premium valuation investors have assigned to the stock.
For now, AAPL bulls point to the stock's strong momentum and institutional support, while skeptics argue that near-term software headwinds deserve more attention than the market is currently pricing in. Continue reading at Yahoo.
