Apple (AAPL.US) has impressive earnings reports, and the stock price has jumped, but AI layout and tariff pressure have become the focus of the clash on Wall Street

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on Friday, Apple (AAPL.US) stock price rose due to the strong results it announced for the third fiscal quarter of fiscal year 2025. However, Wall Street analysts' reactions were mixed.

Citi maintained its “buy” rating for Apple and raised its target price for the share from $207.57 to $245.

A team of analysts led by Atif Malik pointed out that although the June quarter received a short-term boost due to early consumption and increased promotions in the Chinese market in the June quarter, Apple's performance outlook mitigated investors' concerns about the decline in revenue in the September quarter.

Analysts pointed out that Apple clarified that the impact of the early release of performance was limited to about 1% (mainly concentrated in April sales in the US market), and channel inventory was still at the low end of the target range. Analysts believe that the outlook shows that the equipment upgrade and service business (despite recent App Store payment policy adjustments) will maintain an overall growth trend, but this judgment does not take into account the potential impact of possible changes in Google (GOOGL.US) traffic acquisition costs (TAC).

The Malik team added, “Apple also revealed that it is increasing its investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and may enhance the AI business layout through mergers and acquisitions, which will be viewed as a positive sign by the market. Overall, Apple's fundamentals remain steady, and we believe the new three new products, Siri, folding screen phones, and Vision Pro 2, will support next year's results.”

Needham, on the other hand, maintained a “hold” rating. The agency believes that Apple's third-quarter performance was strong, but capital expenditure continued to rise, and AI-related progress was delayed.

The analysis team led by Laura Martin pointed out that until the iPhone switching cycle arrives, it will be difficult for Apple's stock price to break through. The Apple Intelligence system integration plan mentioned in the earnings call will not be realized until next year, which means 2025 is not the year of an outbreak.

Team Martin said, “Currently, the Android camp is leading the iOS system with Gemini technology. “Considering that Apple is essentially still a single-product company that relies on iPhones, if the gap between iOS and Android continues to widen, its valuation risk will rise significantly.”

Oppenheimer reconfirmed Apple's “hold” rating.

Analyst Martin Yang pointed out that Apple's third-quarter revenue/earnings per share reached 94 billion US dollars/1.57 US dollars. Among them, revenue in Greater China increased 4% year on year, reversing the downward trend of the previous two quarters. At the same time, Yang believes that with excellent execution and flexible supply chain response, Apple has successfully solved complex tariff challenges, and the service business has also shown potential for continued growth.

“However, it is important to note that Google's TAC policy ruling, increased tariff-related costs, and a weak iPhone product cycle that lacks breakthrough AI features will still suppress stock price performance,” Yang added.

Morgan Stanley maintained its “Overweight” rating and raised its target price from $235 to $240.

The analysis team led by Erik Woodring said that this is Apple's strongest quarterly report and performance guide in more than two years, and the hardware products, service business and regional markets have all exceeded expectations.

However, the Woodring team added, “Judging from historical experience, this should have triggered stronger bullish sentiment, but until tariffs and regulatory policies are clarified, we expect it will be difficult to achieve a breakthrough rise in Apple's stock price.”