Apple (AAPL 1.93%) is posting strong growth these days. Revenue climbed 15.7% year over year in Q1 2026 (ended Dec. 27).
Credit goes to robust demand for the iPhone 17 lineup. However, delayed updates to Siri and greater regulatory scrutiny are currently pressuring shares.
Should you buy Apple stock while it's trading below $270 (as of Feb. 12)?
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Apple's latest results showcase impressive momentum
Apple is one of the highest-quality companies on Earth. Its products and services are extremely popular and command pricing power.
Apple is a powerful brand that has stood the test of time. It has impressive customer loyalty. And profits are extravagant, with a net income margin of 29.3% last fiscal quarter.
Sales of the iPhone were also up 23.4% year over year in Q1. This indicates ongoing market leadership for a hardware device that's critical to Apple's financial success. It's difficult to find many complaints.
NASDAQ: AAPL
Key Data Points
Reasons to temper expectations
The "Magnificent Seven" stock's price-to-earnings ratio of 33.1, however, isn't the cheapest. Additionally, it's not easy to believe durable double-digit earnings growth is realistic, given that the annualized profit base was $168 billion in Q1.
Investors also aren't the most confident with Apple's cautious approach in the artificial intelligence (AI) race. Some even argue that the business is falling behind its peers.
Consequently, there's a good chance shares won't outperform the broader market over the next five years.
