Apple (AAPL) closed at $237.87 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.97% move from the prior day. The stock’s performance was ahead of the S&P 500’s daily gain of 1.83%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 1.65%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 2.45%.
Prior to today’s trading, shares of the maker of iPhones, iPads and other products had lost 7.97% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector’s loss of 3.84% and the S&P 500’s loss of 3.31% in that time.
The upcoming earnings release of Apple will be of great interest to investors. The company’s earnings report is expected on January 30, 2025. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $2.36, marking an 8.26% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $124.1 billion, up 3.78% from the year-ago period.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $7.43 per share and a revenue of $412.79 billion, indicating changes of +10.07% and +5.56%, respectively, from the former year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Apple. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts’ favorable outlook on the company’s business health and profitability.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there’s been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Apple is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
With respect to valuation, Apple is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 31.4. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 12.78 of its industry.
We can additionally observe that AAPL currently boasts a PEG ratio of 2.29. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company’s expected earnings growth rate into account. AAPL’s industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.66 as of yesterday’s close.
