Apple stock has had a rough year to date, down 20% through Tuesday's close. Shares of the consumer electronics giant have fallen amid soft iPhone sales, tariff concerns and challenges to its services business. Still, some investors might be wondering: Is Apple stock a buy right now?
The next potential catalyst for Apple stock is the Cupertino, Calif.-based company's annual software developers conference. Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC, begins on June 9.
However, Wall Street analysts have low expectations for WWDC 2025. That's due to Apple's struggles to develop artificial intelligence applications for its devices, including an AI-powered Siri voice assistant.
The upgraded Siri has been delayed and might not be released until 2026, according to media reports. Apple originally planned to release the new Siri in April. That was one of a series of setbacks for Apple's AI applications, branded Apple Intelligence.
A lack of compelling new features has hindered iPhone sales lately, analysts say. Many had expected to see an AI-driven upgrade cycle this year.
On March 23, investment bank UBS released the results of a survey that showed that iPhone owners are waiting longer to upgrade their handsets. The survey revealed that the average age of an iPhone in use in the U.S. is now 35 months, or 2.9 years. And iPhone owners are holding on to their handsets even longer in Japan and the U.K.
In addition to lackluster iPhone sales, Apple faces risks around tariffs and potential changes to its lucrative internet search deal with Google due to the pending Department of Justice antitrust case.
Recent Apple Stock News
On May 23, President Donald Trump threatened to levy tariffs of "at least 25%" on Apple products if Chief Executive Tim Cook doesn't commit to making iPhones in the U.S. Apple stock fell on the news.
Trump expressed his displeasure that Apple had chosen to move iPhone production to India from China to avoid steeper tariffs. Analysts say manufacturing iPhones in the U.S. would be extremely expensive and is highly unlikely to happen.
"The concept of Apple producing iPhones in the U.S. is a fairy tale that is not feasible," Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said in a client note.
Apple stock has been on a roller-coaster ride from Trump tariff news. It tumbled after Trump announced his Liberation Day tariffs on April 2. Then it rebounded when Trump announced on April 11 that smartphones, laptops and other electronics would be exempt from U.S. reciprocal tariffs, at least temporarily. Apple stock also got a boost on May 12 after the U.S. and China slashed their respective tariffs for a 90-day negotiation period.
Latest Apple Earnings Report
Late on May 1, Apple comfortably beat estimates for its fiscal second quarter, thanks to record services revenue. But Apple stock fell the next day as investors weighed the impact of tariffs on hardware sales and legal cases threatening its services business.
Apple earned $1.65 a share, up 8% year over year, on sales of $95.4 billion, up 5%, in the quarter ended March 29.
For the current quarter, Apple expects its total revenue to increase by a low to mid-single-digit percentage. Analysts had been modeling for sales to rise 4% to $89.19 billion in the fiscal third quarter.
The March quarter was helped by strong services business, but that business is under threat from legal rulings. Apple services include the App Store, Apple Pay, iCloud, Apple Music, Apple TV+ and other offerings. In fiscal Q2, Apple's services revenue surged 12% year over year to $26.65 billion. Services accounted for 28% of Apple's total revenue.
On April 30, the judge overseeing a lawsuit brought by Epic Games said Apple willfully violated an order to permit payments outside of the App Store. Apple had continued to demand commissions from app developers that used alternative payment methods. It also took steps that interfered with the ability of developers to communicate alternative payment options to users, the judge said.
Meanwhile, a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust case against Alphabet unit Google threatens a deal that makes Google the default search engine on Apple's iPhone. Google pays Apple about $20 billion a year under the arrangement.
Is Apple Stock A Buy Right Now?
No, Apple stock is not a buy right now. Apple shares are trading below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, a bearish sign, according to IBD MarketSurge charts.
Apple stock needs to form a new base in the right market conditions before setting a potential buy point. Check out IBD's Big Picture column for the current market direction.
Apple stock ended regular-session trading Tuesday at 200.21. Year to date through Tuesday's close, Apple stock is down 20.1%.
AAPL stock has an IBD Composite Rating of 54 out of 99, according to IBD Stock Checkup. IBD's Composite Rating combines five separate proprietary ratings of fundamental and technical performance into one easy-to-use rating. The best growth stocks have a Composite Rating of 90 or better.
Apple stock has an IBD Relative Strength Rating of 24 out of 99. The Relative Strength Rating shows how a stock's price performance stacks up against all other stocks over the last 52 weeks.
Keep an eye on the overall stock market. If the market turns south, don't try to fight the general stock market direction.
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