Apple’s 2025 iPhone lineup, including the sleek iPhone Air and its flagship iPhone 17 Pro Max, is proving a major success with consumers. This strong reception is boosting Wall Street analysts’ optimism, leading to a notable stock upgrade.
Analysts at Loop Capital upped their rating on Apple stock to “Buy” from “Hold,” and hiked their price target to $315 from $226 on expectations the company could set record iPhone shipments this cycle.
Loop’s Ananda Baruah estimates Apple could ship 238 million iPhones this year, just short of 2021’s 240 million record, and followed by shipping 250 million units in 2026 and 260 million in 2027.
Sales of the iPhone 17 series have outstripped the iPhone 16 series by 14% during the first 10 days of availability in China and the U.S., according to Counterpoint Research data published Monday.
In the Chinese market, the focus is on the cheaper base model, where unit sales of the iPhone 17 nearly doubled compared with the iPhone 16.
“The base model iPhone 17 is very compelling to consumers, offering great value for money,” Counterpoint senior analyst Mengmeng Zhang wrote. “A better chip, improved display, higher base storage, selfie camera upgrade — all for the same price as last year’s iPhone 16… Simply put, it provides extremely good value-for-money, and Chinese consumers are rewarding Apple for that.”
Meanwhile, in the U.S. the strongest demand has been for the high-end Pro Max.
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