Shares of the consumer tech giant Apple (AAPL 2.03%) traded over 3% higher, as of 2:37 p.m. ET today. Reports of the iPhone's market share gains in India, along with high hopes heading into earnings later this week, are driving the move.
A potential earnings surprise to the upside
A TechCrunch report late Friday revealed that Apple's iPhone has grown market share in India to about 9%, up from 7% in 2024. The news follows somewhat recent reports of strong iPhone sales in China, and suggests the latest model of Apple's flagship product is being well received.
Image source: Getty Images.
Additionally, investors seem bullish on Apple's upcoming fiscal first-quarter earnings report for 2026, which will come out on Thursday. Apple's stock has struggled a bit in recent months due to investor concerns about higher memory prices and future iPhone demand, but the market may be overreacting, according to JPMorgan Chase analyst Samik Chatterjee.
NASDAQ: AAPL
Key Data Points
Chatterjee believes the upcoming quarter could highlight Apple's strong recent iPhone 17 demand and solid performance in a difficult environment. Chatterjee sees an opportunity for Apple to report better-than-expected operating expenses and reassure investors that it can largely absorb higher memory prices with limited impact, thanks to its strong supply chain.
Chatterjee reiterated his outperform rating on the stock and increased his price target by $10 to $315 per share.
The company is well-positioned
I continue to view Apple's stock as well-positioned from a long-term perspective. The company hasn't heavily spent on capital expenditures related to artificial intelligence, but it could also reveal a more favorable AI strategy sometime this year. Apple will likely benefit from AI, but the company does not live and die by it, making it less risky than a pure-play AI stock.
