Apple Has a New Growth Engine, and It Could Be Huge
Apple's Services segment just posted a record quarter while Siri AI prepares to reach 2.5 billion active devices, and the combination is forcing a serious reassessment of where this stock goes over the next 12 months.
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Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) is finally showing what a genuine second engine looks like. Services hit a June-quarter record of $30.7 billion, up 12% YoY, and Tim Cook is “off the charts excited about Siri AI” as the reimagined assistant rolls out globally. That combination, paired with a still-accelerating iPhone cycle, is the setup our model is pricing in.
Our 24/7 Wall St. price target for Apple is $359.38, versus a current price of $305.26. That implies 17.73% upside over the next 12 months. Our recommendation is buy, and our confidence level is 90%, our highest tier.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Current Price | $305.26 |
| 24/7 Wall St. Price Target | $359.38 |
| Upside | 17.73% |
| Recommendation | BUY |
| Confidence | 90% |
From Consolidation to a Fresh Setup
Apple is down 2.2% over the past week and 2.96% over the past month, but still up 12.59% year to date and 31.31% over the past year. The stock sits 6% below its 52-week high of $344.27. On August 12, Jefferies cut its price target, which pressured shares, though that came against fundamentals that keep improving.
Q3 FY26 delivered revenue of $109.42B, up 16.36% YoY, and EPS of $2.02 versus $1.89 consensus, the ninth straight beat. iPhone rose 21.7% YoY to $54.25B, Mac jumped 29%, and every geography grew double digits.
Why Bulls See a Breakout Above $375
The bull thesis rests on Services becoming Apple’s dominant profit engine and Siri AI monetizing across a 2.5B active device installed base. Cook flagged iCloud Plus upgrade tiers as the paid on-ramp for heavy Siri AI users.
Meanwhile Apple Pay hit record users and paid subscriptions surpassed 1.5 billion. Our bull scenario points to $374.64, or 22.73% upside. Bank of America has already published a $380 price target citing AI.
What Could Go Wrong
The clearest risk is memory. Cook called current DRAM pricing a “100-year flood” and said Apple “reluctantly raised prices”. September guidance includes gross margin of 47% to 48%, with meaningful supply constraints. Q3’s 2 percentage-point tariff refund tailwind also fades.
Bulls would counter that gross profit still grew 25.28% YoY even accounting for that benefit, and R&D spend rose to $11.73B from $8.9B, funding the AI roadmap. Our bear case lands at $311.77.
How Apple Compares to Microsoft and Alphabet
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is the cleanest AI-monetization comp: Copilot plus Azure sit on a subscription base similar to Apple’s Services flywheel. Microsoft trades at a richer forward multiple than Apple’s 32x, which suggests our target isn’t stretched relative to how the market prices durable software cash flow.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is the capex counterpoint. Retail investors have flagged that Apple’s capex is 1.8% of revenue versus Alphabet’s 37.5%. Alphabet trades at a mid-20s forward P/E, cheaper than Apple, but with far heavier AI infrastructure spend. Apple’s asset-light AI stance supports a premium multiple, making our target look reasonable rather than aggressive.
Apple Price Prediction 2026 to 2030
Our 24/7 Wall St. price target, a buy, and highest-tier confidence reflect earnings that keep beating, Services accelerating, and Siri AI arriving without hyperscaler-level capex. The setup strengthens if September revenue lands at the top of the 9% to 11% guide. Caution is warranted if memory costs compress gross margin below 47%.
Our multi-year model projects the following, assuming Services growth holds and Siri AI monetization ramps.
| Year | 24/7 Wall St. Price Target |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $359.38 |
| 2027 | $395 |
| 2028 | $435 |
| 2029 | $470 |
| 2030 | $509.74 |
These projections assume Apple continues executing on Services and Siri AI. Meaningful upside or downside could come from foldable iPhone adoption or a sustained memory-cost cycle.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Vandita Jadeja is a financial copywriter who loves to read and write about stocks. She believes in buying and holding for long term gains. Her knowledge of words and numbers helps her write clear stock analysis. She has contributed to several publications, including the Joy Wallet, Benzinga, The Motley Fool and InvestorPlace.
