Apple Stock Is Falling. 'Let the Slowdown Begin,' and More Earnings Takeaways. -- Barrons.com

By Callum Keown

Surging memory costs are taking a bite out of Apple's stock.

The stock was down 3.7% ahead of the open Tuesday despite the tech giant beating earnings and revenue expectations in its fiscal fourth quarter. Even its guidance for the current quarter topped Wall Street's estimates.

Apple, the anti-AI hero, can't escape the impacts of the artificial-intelligence boom.

"What we're seeing with memory pricing right now is unprecedented," CEO John Ternus said on the company's earnings call. He said he expects memory prices to continue to rise in the current quarter and beyond.

It's hitting margins. Apple guided for gross margins of 45% to 46% in the December quarter, lower than the 46.5% expected by analysts polled by FactSet.

KeyBanc analyst Brandon Nispel reiterated an Underweight rating on the stock with a price target of $250, in a note titled 'Let the Slowdown Begin,' late Monday.

"Apple's 7-10% revenue guide continues to contemplate a slowdown in hardware growth, despite price increases -- a clear sign unit demand is declining," he said. "We think Apple is at the point of extreme overvaluation, and see risk to shares."

That's a very bearish view. Citi analysts are more positive, noting that they view Apple as a defensive stock with an attractive valuation on a price-to-free-cash flow basis. They maintained a Buy rating with a $365 price target.

"Despite the mixed outlook, we remain constructive on Apple's long-term trajectory, supported by its ability to gain share and further drive engagement and monetization of their installed base," they said.

Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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November 03, 2026 07:16 ET (12:16 GMT)