Apple (AAPL) Forecasts Best Holiday Quarter Ever With Double-Digit iPhone and Services Growth

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) ranks among the best long-term stocks to buy according to D. E. Shaw. Following Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) ‘s quarterly results, UBS maintained its Neutral rating and increased its price target from $220 to $280 for the company’s shares on October 31. Despite facing more difficult year-over-year comparisons, the tech giant’s earnings exceeded both top and bottom-line projections, though iPhone revenue was substantially lower compared to the prior quarter.

Looking ahead to the holiday quarter, Apple’s CFO stated that the company anticipates total revenue to increase 10-12% year-over-year, surpassing Wall Street projections, with iPhone sales to expand by double digits. Should these growth forecasts hold, Apple’s CFO stated that it will be “our best quarter ever.” During the same time frame, the company expects its Services division to expand by about 14%.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) also reported a gross margin of 47%–48%, up 30 basis points quarter-over-quarter at the midpoint, despite its product mix favoring more iPhones. According to UBS, the spike comes at the same time that China tariffs have been lowered from 20% to 10%, which raises the guidance by about 20 basis points.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide.

While we acknowledge the potential of AAPL to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AAPL and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 10 Best Magic Formula Stocks for 2025 and 10 Best Retirement Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.