Worries about tariffs and growth potential intensify, Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) successively downgraded by Wall Street analysts.

Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) was downgraded by Wall Street analysts on Friday in succession, as the recent earnings report heightened market concerns about tariffs and the company's growth potential. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. analyst Edison Lee downgraded Apple Inc. to "underperforming the market," becoming one of the few analysts bearish on the iPhone maker. Despite Apple Inc.'s performance meeting expectations, Lee stated, "The impact of tariffs will widen over time, causing greater downside profit risks." Apple Inc.'s earnings report showed lower-than-expected sales in China, with an estimated $900 million cost increase expected due to tariffs. The company also stated that revenue growth for the quarter is expected to be in the "low to mid-single digits." Jefferies Financial Group Inc. called this the "best-case scenario," assuming US tariffs on China remain at 20% and no tariffs are imposed on imports from India and Vietnam. "These assumptions are unlikely to hold long-term, especially in the event of non-negotiable industry tariffs." In addition, Rosenblatt Securities analyst Barton Crockett downgraded Apple Inc. from "buy" to "neutral." He stated, "We are faced with a well-operating company, with decent but flattening growth performance, in need of an exciting new product to reignite growth, with the company's current trading valuation at a high level and amidst a turbulent period of tariffs and regulatory environment." Crockett added that Apple Inc.'s earnings highlight the company's "excellent supply chain capabilities, and demand for iPhone is better than many feared." However, "iPhone sales require a significant acceleration driven by artificial intelligence" to make Apple Inc.'s stock perform well. Despite this, some analysts still appreciate Apple Inc.'s earnings report. Citigroup analyst Atif Malik stated, "Fundamentals remain strong, and the company delivered a good performance/guidance in a challenging tariff environment," but he remains cautious about the outlook. However, compared to other tech giants, Wall Street analysts are relatively cautious about Apple Inc. Among the analysts tracked by Bloomberg, less than 60% recommend "buying" Apple Inc. stocks, a lower percentage compared to other large cap stocks. In stark contrast to Apple Inc.'s earnings report, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) had a strong performance, driving its stock price up significantly on Thursday. This positions the software company to potentially surpass Apple Inc.'s market value. At the time of writing, Apple Inc. was down 5% in early trading, while Microsoft Corporation was up over 2%.