The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet

For Immediate ReleaseChicago, IL – June 12, 2025 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Apple AAPL, Amazon AMZN, Microsoft MSFT and Alphabet GOOGL.Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:Buy, Sell or Hold Apple Stock Post-WWDC25?Apple, at this year's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), introduced a plethora of updates in its major platforms — iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, tvOS 26, visionOS 26 and watchOS 26 — along with a new software design crafted with a new material called Liquid Glass. The translucent material reflects and refracts its surroundings and intelligently adapts between light and dark environments. Liquid Glass makes apps and system experiences more expressive, offering users greater focus on content.At WWDC25, the company announced new Apple Intelligence features like Live Translation, updates to visual intelligence, as well as enhancements to Image Playground and Genmoji. Shortcuts can access Apple Intelligence directly. Developers also get access to the on-device large language model, which is at the core of Apple Intelligence. The latest features are now available for testing and are expected to be generally available this fall with supported devices.Apple is expanding Services with AutoMix and Lyrics Translation features in Apple Music. Sing will allow users to transform their iPhones into a handheld microphone for Apple TV, while preferred routes and visited places in Apple Map make navigation easier for users. Apple Intelligence is now getting added to Apple Wallet, and users can make purchases with Apple Pay.Powered by Apple Intelligence, Apple Wallet can now automatically identify, summarize and display order tracking details from emails sent from merchants or delivery carriers. Meanwhile, Apple Pay expands the ability to pay with rewards and installments to in-store purchases for added flexibility and choice.The latest features and the Liquid Glass software design bode well for Apple's prospects, although Apple Intelligence features lacked the "wow" factor. Apple continues to play catch-up in the AI domain against the likes of Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet. Apple shares have declined 19.1% year to date (YTD), underperforming the Zacks Computer & Technology sector's appreciation of 2.5%. While Microsoft shares have returned 11.8% YTD, Amazon and Alphabet dropped 0.9% and 5.6%, respectively.So, what should investors do with Apple stock post the WWDC25 announcements? Let's find out.Apple Suffers from Stiff Competition, Sluggish China SalesApple stock has suffered from U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to levy tariffs on trade partners, including China, Mexico and Canada. China is an important market for Apple as the iPhone maker's manufacturing is primarily concentrated in the country. Higher tariffs negatively impact Apple's China supply chain. The Trump administration's decision to exempt electronic devices like smartphones and computers from reciprocal tariffs provided some relief to Apple.Tariffs are currently expected to have a negative impact of roughly $900 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2025. Apple expects gross margin between 45.5% and 46.5% for the current quarter. In the fiscal second quarter, Apple reported a gross margin of 47.1%.Apple has been suffering from sluggish demand for the iPhone in China amid increasing competition from the likes of Huawei and Xiaomi, as well as the lack of Apple Intelligence. Greater China sales decreased 2.3% year over year in the second quarter of fiscal 2025.Can Strong Services Boost Apple's Prospects?Although Apple's business primarily revolves around its flagship iPhone, the Services portfolio has emerged as the company's strong growth driver. In the fiscal second quarter, Services revenues grew 11.6% year over year. Apple now has more than 1 billion paid subscribers across its Services portfolio, more than double what it had four years ago. The expanding content portfolio of Apple TV+, Apple Music and Apple Arcade, as well as the growing user base of Apple Pay, has helped drive subscriber growth.Apple is seeing better iPhone 16 sales in regions where Apple Intelligence is available. Apple expanded the availability of Apple Intelligence with iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS Sequoia 15.4 updates in new languages, including French, German, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (simplified) — as well as localized English for Singapore and India — and are accessible in nearly all regions around the world. At the end of 2025, Apple Intelligence will be available in eight more languages: Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (traditional) and Vietnamese.AAPL Estimates Show Downward Trend, Shares OvervaluedThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for Apple's fiscal 2025 earnings has declined by a penny to $7.11 per share over the past 30 days, indicating 5.33% growth from the figure reported in fiscal 2024.The AAPL stock is not so cheap, as the Value Score of D suggests a stretched valuation at this moment.Apple is trading at a forward 12-month Price/Sales (P/S) of 7.3X compared with the sector's 6.41X, Amazon's 3.19X and Alphabet's 6.39X. However, Microsoft is trading at 11.24X, a significant premium compared with Apple.AAPL shares are now trading below the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating a bearish trend.ConclusionAlthough the Services business has emerged as AAPL's new cash cow, we believe Apple Intelligence's underwhelming performance is a headwind for its product business (iPhone, iPad and Mac). A stretched valuation is a concern for investors.AAPL currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), suggesting that it may be wise to wait for a more favorable entry point in the stock. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.See Stocks Free >>Media ContactZacks Investment Research800-767-3771 ext. 9339support@zacks.com                                      https://www.zacks.com                                                 Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2024. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report Apple Inc. (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks