The Zhitong Finance App learned that the latest financial report released by Apple (AAPL.US) this week shows that in the second fiscal quarter ending March 2024, the company's total revenue fell 4.3% year on year to US$90.8 billion, in line with market expectations, while the iPhone business revenue, which has received much attention from the market, fell 10.5% year on year to 46 billion US dollars. It is worth mentioning that in the first quarter of this year, global mobile phone market shipments showed a single-digit year-on-year increase, while Apple's iPhone business performance declined. This indicates that the company was affected by increased market competition and insufficient demand for iPhones.

Apple's growing competition in the market and the company's slow performance in artificial intelligence are worrying many investors. However, many analysts are still optimistic about Apple's future and say the company's “worst is over” and demand for iPhones may be improving. Apple CEO Cook also said that total revenue for the third fiscal quarter ending in June is likely to grow by “low single digits.”

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in an investor report: “Compared to Wall Street's belief that Apple's performance will decline, Apple's own performance guidelines for the third fiscal quarter say that the company will achieve low single-digit growth, because iPhone demand in China seems to be slowly starting to improve, and strong service business performance is still the cornerstone of the company's growth.”

Dan Ives added: “Apple will announce the market's long-awaited progress in artificial intelligence at the Global Developers Conference in June. The company's artificial intelligence strategy will begin with the iPhone 16 this fall and begin a supercycle driven by artificial intelligence.” The analyst rated Apple as “outperforming the market,” with a target price of $250.

Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan also said, “We expect Apple to launch AI-related features at the June Global Developers Conference and the September iPhone launch.” “We expect Apple to continue investing in its own chips and focus on integrating hardware, software, and services, and taking full advantage of next-generation artificial intelligence opportunities.” The analyst rated Apple a “buy” and the target price was raised to $230.

Citibank analyst Atif Malik is more optimistic. He believes that Apple's June Global Developers Conference was a positive catalyst, and Cook's outlook on the future of artificial intelligence “sounds very optimistic.” Analysts expect the company will have multiple artificial intelligence development tools to enhance interactivity and productivity. The analyst rated Apple as a “buy” with a target price of $210.

J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee said that Apple now “has a better 'launch pad' in the AI upgrade cycle than people feared.” The analyst rated Apple as “overweight,” and the target price was raised from $210 to $225.

Additionally, many on Wall Street were surprised by the $110 billion buyback announced by Apple. According to reports, this is the largest share repurchase in the company's history. In addition to share buybacks, Apple also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share, an increase of 4%. Analyst Lillian Cheung said Apple's “strong cash flow” will continue to support its generous capital return plan through share repurchases, which is the key to boosting investors' confidence in Apple stock.