Apple Stock Forecast 2025: Will iPhone 16 Make AAPL Soar?

Apple (AAPL) has revealed its next generation of smartphones, packed full of artificial intelligence features, as it fights for supremacy in a fiercely competitive AI market.

The tech giant unveiled the latest iPhones, AirPods, and Apple Watches at an event held at its headquarters in Cupertino, California.

However, the annual product launch failed to set the stock market alight and the AAPL stock price remained disappointingly flat.

The big question is: What happens now? Will Apple’s projected stock price rise over the coming months or has it reached a temporary ceiling?

In our Apple stock forecast 2025, we assess the recent product launches and look at what analysts believe will happen to the Apple stock price.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. Summary of the Latest Apple Stock Predictions
3. Apple Stock Analysis
4. Latest Apple News
5. Mixed Reaction to Apple's Announcement
6. Have Previous iPhones Affected the AAPL Stock Price?
7. Apple Stock Forecast 2025: What Do The Analysts Say?
8. Apple Stock Predictions: Where Will the Price Go Next?
9. The Bottom Line: Should I Invest in Apple?
10. FAQs
11. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. Summary of the Latest Apple Stock Predictions
3. Apple Stock Analysis
Show Full Guide
4. Latest Apple News
5. Mixed Reaction to Apple's Announcement
6. Have Previous iPhones Affected the AAPL Stock Price?
7. Apple Stock Forecast 2025: What Do The Analysts Say?
8. Apple Stock Predictions: Where Will the Price Go Next?
9. The Bottom Line: Should I Invest in Apple?
10. FAQs
11. References

Summary of the Latest Apple Stock Predictions

Here, we examine the AAPL price targets of analysts and algorithmic forecasters to give an idea of what investors may experience over the coming years.

Apple Stock Analysis

An important part of our Apple stock forecast is looking at what has happened to the  AAPL stock price over the past year.

The good news for investors is that the share price has soared 24% from $178.61 to $220.91 since September 2023.

However, even this doesn’t tell the full story as AAPL stock is up 25.7% from its 52-week low of $164.07 but still off its all-time high closing price of $234.55 on July 16, 2024, according to Macrotrends.

The stock price performance over the past five years has been even more impressive, with a 300% rise from $55.34 to $220.91, as the market closed on September 9, 2024.

So, what is the future outlook for Apple stock? Well, a key element is the latest developments that have taken place in recent weeks.

Latest Apple News

Apple Intelligence Release

The most recent Apple news came on September 9, 2024, when the tech giant unveiled its latest range of products.

This was headlined by the new iPhone 16 lineup, which Apple said was “built from the ground up for Apple Intelligence,” the company’s AI platform that was announced in June 2024.

These models will feature the faster and more efficient A18 and A18 Pro chips, making them “the most advanced and capable” iPhone models ever.

For example, users will be able to create the movies they want to see by typing a description, while a new Clean Up tool will remove unwanted objects in the background of a photo.

Tim Cook, managing director of Apple, wrote on X:

Welcome to the new era of iPhone!

Built for Apple Intelligence, the iPhone 16 lineup delivers a powerful, personal, and private experience right at your fingertips. And with the new Camera Control, you’ll never miss a moment. pic.twitter.com/zBsx9xOBl1

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 9, 2024

Separately, the company said its Apple Watch Series 10 will be “thinner than ever” and feature an advanced display, faster charging, and water depth and temperature sensing.

Meanwhile, Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 will include features such as hearing tests and hearing aid features.

Mixed Reaction to Apple’s Announcement

How does this affect Apple stock expectations? There seemed to be a mixed reaction on X in the hours following the announcement.

While some expressed excitement about Apple embracing AI features, others suggested there wasn’t anything in the launch to justify the enthusiasm.

The good news for the company was that the Apple stock price target of some prominent analysts rose in the wake of the unveiling of the new iPhone lineup.

Dan Ives, managing director and senior equity research analyst at Wedbush Securities, was particularly upbeat about the Apple stock outlook.

The new era of personalization and how consumers interact with their iPhones has now begun; this will cause a renaissance of iPhone growth for Apple over the next 12 to 18 months and drive shares higher with a $4 trillion market cap in 2025. Raising price target to $300 🔥🐂🍎🍏

— Dan Ives (@DivesTech) September 9, 2024

Have Previous iPhones Affected the AAPL Stock Price?

The next stage of our Apple stock prediction 2025 looks at how the launch of previous iPhone models has affected the AAPL stock price.

According to analysis by AJ Bell, Apple’s shares rose 29% in the six months leading up to this year’s annual new products unveiling.

This is substantially ahead of the 21% gain that has preceded prior launches and suggests that the pressure could be on the latest incarnation.

Russ Mould, AJ Bell’s investment director, pointed out that Apple stock has a habit of running up strongly ahead of a new release and then doing relatively little in the immediate aftermath.

“Apple needs to shake off accusations that it is lagging in the field of Artificial Intelligence, and iPhone 16 therefore needs to prove it can compete with rival offerings such as Samsung’s Galaxy S24 and Alphabet’s Google Pixel 9,” he said.

Share Price Movements Before & After Recent iPhone Announcements

Source: AJ Bell

Mould also highlighted how the ‘Magnificent Seven’ of Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Meta (META), Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA), and Tesla (TSLA) have already shed $2.5 trillion of their combined values since July.

He explained that this was due to “doubts about their lofty valuations,” worries about increased regulatory pushback, and questions over how much companies were spending on AI.

“Apple’s shares have proved the most resilient among the septet, with a drop of barely 5% since mid-July, compared to a retreat of nearly a quarter at NVIDIA, and this may be due to how the real driver of Apple’s business now is higher-margin services rather than hardware sales,” Mould added.

Apple Stock Forecast 2025: What Do The Analysts Say?

Next we look at the Apple stock predictions of analysts.

AI Looks Unlikely to Be Apple’s Golden Goose Yet

The announcement may have generated a lot of discussion, but Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, remains unconvinced.

She told Techopedia:

“Investors are still hyped about the potential of AI but it looks unlikely to be Apple’s golden goose just yet. Smartphone customers need a really awesome incentive to part with their current handset. It has to be something they just can’t do without and, perhaps more importantly they don’t want to be seen without.”

Hewson highlighted the excitement surrounding the latest revelation from Chinese tech firm Huawei of the world’s first tri-foldable phone.

However, she also acknowledged that Apple had been consistent over many years.

“It keeps on delivering and if anyone can make smartphones smarter it’s likely to be them,” she added. “We may look back on the 16th version of the iPhone as the one that changed the game, but as the whistle blows there’s not much excitement about what’s on the field.”

A Lot Rests on the Success of Apple’s iPhone 16 Range

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, believes a lot rests on the success of its new iPhone range.

She said: ”Apple will be hoping its brand power and AI promises will offset consumer reticence about spending big in uncertain economic times.”

Streeter suggested the tech giant was playing catch-up in the smartphone market as Samsung and Google have already introduced handsets with more AI tools embedded.

“The big bet is that the AI buzz generated by any new Apple Intelligence features will prompt a domino effect of mass upgrades around the world,” she said.

However, she believes this could be a gamble and pointed out that it is “throwing the AI kitchen sink” at its hand-held devices while pulling the plug on projects such as the AI car.

“Clearly this is a key moment for a business that’s struggled to deliver real innovation in recent times and its impressive brand power, which keeps legions of fans loyal, should help it maintain its edge, and give it that extra bit of momentum amid consumer wariness,” Streeter added.

Another Strong Year of Revenue Growth

William Kerwin, equity analyst at Morningstar, raised his fair value Apple share price forecast from $170 to $185 ahead of the recent product launches.

He wrote in his Apple stock forecast of August 1, 2024:

“We continue to expect strong revenue growth in fiscal 2025 as users upgrade their iPhones to take advantage of Apple’s generative artificial intelligence features, requiring the latest and greatest hardware.”

Kerwin also forecasted another strong year of revenue growth in fiscal 2026 and insisted that iPhone revenue growth remained “the primary driver” of Apple’s results.

“We see it as the linchpin to the firm’s walled garden ecosystem of hardware, software, and services, which underpins our wide moat rating and long-term growth thesis,” he said.

However, Kerwin believes the shares are overvalued.

“Apple’s current stock price (at that point, it was $218.36) implies closer to 20% iPhone revenue growth in fiscal 2025, which we see as lofty given headwinds to growth in China and slowing consumer phone upgrade cycles,” he added.

Apple Stock Predictions: Where Will the Price Go Next?

So, is Apple a buy, hold, or sell? What are the expectations for Apple’s future stock price?

The stock is rated a ‘moderate buy,’ according to the Apple stock projections of 36 Wall Street analysts, compiled by MarketBeat as of September 10.

While 24 have ‘buy’ recommendations in place and one a ‘strong buy,’ 10 see it as a ‘hold,’ and one has it down as a ‘sell.’

Others believe the AAPL stock price could rise almost 13% to $249.48 over the next 12 months, according to the views of 35 analysts compiled by TipRanks.

Meanwhile, the algorithmic forecast of Wallet Investor suggested that the price could hit $255.20 over the same period.

The following table shows the latest analysts’ Apple stock predictions as of September 10, 2024.

Source: MarketBeat

How about the Apple stock long-term forecast?

Most analysts are reluctant to look too far into the future, which is why an Apple stock forecast 2030 is viewed as unrealistic.

The Bottom Line: Should I Invest in Apple?

The annual Apple product launch is one of the biggest events on the tech calendar, as it gives customers the first glimpse of the company’s latest developments.

Unsurprisingly, this year’s event was heavily focused on how Apple is planning to integrate AI technology into the next generation of iPhones. This is a fiercely competitive arena, and the US-based giant knows it must keep innovating to stay ahead of the chasing pack.

Unfortunately, the announcement didn’t give the shares a lift on the day, although analysts remain pretty upbeat about the company’s future prospects. Their consensus Apple stock forecast 2025 is for shares in the company to rise by upwards of 8% over the next 12 months.

However, it’s worth noting that analysts’ Apple stock forecasts and predictions can be wrong so it’s essential you research the stock to draw your own conclusions before making an investment.

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