Apple Inc.'s (AAPL.US) impressive financial report leads to a surge in stock price, while its AI strategy and tariff pressure become the focus of Wall Street's battle.

On Friday, the stock price of Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) rose due to its strong performance in the third quarter of the 2025 fiscal year. However, Wall Street analysts had mixed reactions to the results. Citigroup maintained a "buy" rating on Apple Inc. and raised its target price from $207.57 to $245. An analyst team led by Atif Malik pointed out that although the June quarter saw a temporary boost from advanced consumer spending due to tariff policies and increased promotional efforts in the Chinese market, Apple Inc.'s performance outlook eased investors' concerns about a revenue decline in September quarter. The analysts noted that Apple Inc. clarified that the impact of early releasing performance was limited to about 1% (mostly concentrated in April sales in the US market) and channel inventory remains at the lower end of the target range. The analysts believe that the outlook indicates continued growth in device upgrades and services (despite recent adjustments to App Store payment policies), but this assessment does not take into account the potential impact of changes in traffic acquisition costs (TAC) for Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOGL.US). The Malik team added, "Apple Inc. has also revealed an increase in investment in the artificial intelligence (AI) field, and may strengthen its AI business through acquisitions, which will be viewed positively by the market. Overall, Apple Inc.'s fundamentals remain strong, and we believe that the three new products of the new generation Siri, folding screen mobile phones and Vision Pro 2 will support the performance next year." Needham maintained a "hold" rating, as the institution believes that Apple Inc.'s performance in the third quarter was strong, but capital expenditures continue to rise and progress in AI-related developments has been delayed. An analysis team led by Laura Martin pointed out that it is difficult for Apple Inc.'s stock price to break through before the iPhone replacement cycle arrives. The implementation of the Apple Intelligence integration plan mentioned in the financial report conference call will not be realized until next year, meaning that 2025 is not a breakout year. The Martin team stated, "Currently, the Android camp is ahead in terms of technology with the Gemini technology. Considering that Apple Inc. is fundamentally still a single-product company relying on the iPhone, if the gap between iOS and Android continues to widen, the valuation risk will increase significantly." Oppenheimer reiterated a "hold" rating on Apple Inc. Analyst Martin Yang pointed out that Apple Inc.'s third-quarter revenue/earnings reached $94 billion/$1.57 per share, with revenue in the Greater China region increasing by 4% year-on-year, reversing the trend of decline in the previous two quarters. At the same time, Yang believes that Apple Inc. has successfully dealt with the complex tariff challenges with outstanding execution and flexible supply chain, and the service business also shows continuous growth potential. "But it should be noted that the ruling on Alphabet Inc. Class C TAC policy, increased costs related to tariffs, and the iPhone product cycle's weak performance due to lack of breakthrough AI features will continue to suppress stock performance," Yang added. Morgan Stanley maintained an "overweight" rating, with a target price raised from $235 to $240. An analyst team led by Erik Woodring stated that this was Apple Inc.'s strongest quarterly report and performance guidance in over two years, with hardware products, service business, and markets in all regions exceeding expectations. However, the Woodring team added, "Historically, this should have triggered a stronger bullish sentiment, but we expect Apple Inc.'s stock price to struggle to achieve a breakthrough until tariff and regulatory policies become clearer."