Apple reached a major milestone in India, generating $10 billion in annual sales for the first time in the fiscal year through March, up from around $9 billion a year earlier, driven mainly by iPhone sales alongside rising demand for iPads and MacBooks. The company also expanded its retail presence, opening its sixth official store in Mumbai in February, while India now hosts five iPhone manufacturing plants producing one out of every four iPhones globally. Despite this progress, Wall Street's focus has shifted to near-term headwinds, with Phillip Securities downgrading the stock from Neutral to Reduce while keeping its price target unchanged at $290, citing rising memory costs and supply constraints that align with Apple's own fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $111.7 billion to $113.7 billion, which fell below the Wall Street estimate of around $114.3 billion. CEO Timothy Cook characterized the increase in memory costs as a hundred-year flood, and management expects gross margin to fall to 47 to 48 percent, while the analyst sees little evidence that Apple Intelligence is encouraging device upgrades. Institutional sentiment remained steady, with the number of hedge funds holding Apple rising from 169 at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025 to 170 at the end of the first quarter of 2026, and short interest at just 1 percent.
Apple Inc.Rising memory costs and supply constraints, with CEO calling it a hundred-year flood, pressure margins and guidance.
Phillip Securities downgrades Apple to Reduce, citing headwinds, though price target unchanged.
