Investing.com -- Bank of America has lowered its price target for Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) to $240 from $250, citing delays in the company’s artificial intelligence rollout and rising supply chain costs tied to tariff uncertainty.
Despite the reduced target, BofA maintained its Buy rating, pointing to “resilient earnings, improving gross margins and strong capital return.”
In a note to clients, BofA analysts flagged setbacks in the release of Apple’s AI-enabled Siri, which could weigh on iPhone upgrade demand.
“Apple’s launch of an AI-enabled Siri has been delayed and can cause a further pushout of iPhones upgrades,” analysts wrote. As a result, BofA trimmed its fiscal 2026 earnings per share estimate to $7.82 from $8.20.
The bank also cut its longer-term revenue forecast, citing “higher costs of navigating a more complex supply chain and for delays in launching an AI enabled Siri.”
Fiscal 2026 revenue estimates were lowered to $440 billion from $450 billion.
Tariff concerns were another source of caution, according to the bank. While near-term iPhone demand could benefit from consumers pulling forward purchases to avoid potential tariffs, BofA warned of a murkier outlook beyond the summer.
“Tariffs create near-term volatility,” the analysts said. The price target was revised based on a slightly lower multiple of 29x 2026 earnings, down from 30x previously, to reflect “higher uncertainty around tariffs.”
Still, BofA expects foreign exchange to be a tailwind. “We expect the weaker US Dollar to help drive upside to revs and margins starting in the June quarter,” the note said.
Future product launches could offer a boost, with Apple expected to debut a thinner iPhone "Air” in September 2025 and a foldable model in September 2026. BofA said these form factor changes “should spur some form factor based replacement demand.”