Dan Ives, global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities, praised Apple’s fiscal first‐quarter report and identified artificial intelligence as the defining growth driver for 2026. On Bloomberg Surveillance, he highlighted the company’s pending rollout of AI features across its 2.5 billion-device installed base, forecasting a subscription-based “AI premium” worth between $75 and $100 per share that is not yet reflected in the stock. Ives also indicated that, to fund the necessary chip investments and preserve margins amid rising memory costs, Apple will likely implement modest price increases on the upcoming iPhone 18 series. He expects the company’s World Wide Developers Conference in June to provide further clarity on integration timelines for Siri and its own large-language model, Gemini, within the hardware ecosystem.

Following Apple’s record $143.8 billion revenue quarter—up 16 percent year-on-year—and all-time high iPhone sales of $85.3 billion (23 percent growth), major brokerages reiterated bullish ratings but flagged divergent risks. Wedbush maintained an Outperform rating with a $350 price target, while Goldman Sachs retained a Buy view and nudged its target up to $330. JPMorgan raised its Overweight rating and a $325 target, citing strong consumer mix toward Pro models. By contrast, Rosenblatt held a Neutral stance (target $267), warning that the current iPhone cycle may normalize after 2026 and noting unresolved supply constraints. DA Davidson pointed to supply-chain bottlenecks but saw Apple Intelligence adoption as a potential sales catalyst, while Needham cautioned that the alliance with Alphabet on foundational AI models could cap upside, calling it “selling its soul to the devil.” Across the board, analysts underscored margin pressure from higher operating expenses and memory pricing as key variables for forward estimates.