Analyst Highlights 'Distrubing and Dissappointing" Development for Apple (AAPL)

We recently published a list of 10 Buzzing Stocks After Latest Earnings Season. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stands against other buzzing stocks after latest earnings season.

Markets were cheering the latest US-China trade deal, after which the two countries will significantly reduce tariffs on each other’s imports for 90 days. The deal practically negates all bear cases modeled by Wall Street analysts based on the impact of tariffs.

Sylvia Jablonski, Defiance ETFs CEO and CIO, called the deal a “game changer” during a program on CNBC.

“I think both countries probably saw a little bit of the demise of what would be here with a non-tariff deal as the data came in. You had a lot of complaints around China across all sectors and then in the US, retailers were reaching out to President Trump and saying that shelves are empty and, you know, a lot of panic about semiconductor software companies. I think that this is really a game changer for both countries, and the big message here is that both countries, it sounds like, decided that they really don’t want to decouple, and, you know, make America great might also mean that, you know, China stays.”

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 158

CFRA’s Angelo Zino said in a latest program on CNBC that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) not providing guidance after its latest quarterly results was “disappointing”

“I’d say also on the guidance side of things, they didn’t provide any guidance for services and to me that’s a little bit disturbing and disappointing because of the fact that, you know, they historically are able to provide guidance on services. It’s typically a very good, visible business for them, but just given some of the uncertainties out there—whether it be tariff related or whether it be related to uncertainties from a regulatory perspective—I think they decided to hold back on providing that type of guidance.”

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is desperately in need of new catalysts. The company’s revenue in China fell 8% in fiscal year 2024, following a 2% decline the previous year. The Chinese market accounts for about 15% of Apple’s total revenue, so this downtrend cannot be ignored.

Investors had hopes from the Wearables, Home, and Accessories segment, but so far its performance has been weak. Vision Pro faces tough competition from Meta’s $500 Quest and the more affordable Quest 3S, making it hard to justify its $3,500 price tag. The failure of Apple’s HomePod, unable to compete with Amazon’s and Google’s lower-priced offerings, further highlights the challenges in this market.

Apple’s iPhone 16 has not shown promising growth prospects yet and investors are still in a wait-and-see mode on the AI platform.

Columbia Seligman Global Technology Fund stated the following regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

“The fund maintained a position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) throughout the quarter through the release of the company’s new iPhone 16 in September. Company leaders were excited about the release of the new model, as this is the first model that will feature enhanced AI capabilities through the Apple Intelligence features. Sales for the first few weeks in October and November trailed behind year over year sales from the iPhone 15, as availability of Apple Intelligence was not compatible with all iPhone models. Apple announced a partnership with OpenAI that has allowed the integration of ChatGPT into the Apple ecosystem, separate from the core Apple Intelligence features. This partnership highlights continued progress from Apple to introduce AI capabilities into its products and we expect the iPhone 17 to have even more expansive AI capabilities, increasing potential demand for the new model that is on track to be released in 2025.”

Overall, AAPL ranks 2nd on our list of buzzing stocks after latest earnings season. While we acknowledge the potential of AAPL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that under-the-radar AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AAPL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.