Wedbush maintained its Outperform rating and $350 price target on Apple’s (AAPL) shares while highlighting four key things to focus on for the stock to hit the price target in 2026.
“This is a monumental year for Apple and Cook to finally bring Cupertino into the AI Revolution era. The stock has languished so far this year as investors express some concern this will be another “waiting game year” for Apple to monetize and capitalize on this 4th Industrial Revolution already underway. In our view the Street is underestimating what 2026 is going to bring for Apple as in our view this will be finally be the time that Cook & Co. dive into the deep end of the pool on its AI strategic roadmap,” said analysts led by Dan Ives.
The analysts added that while there are several moving parts for Apple this year, they lay out four strategic keys for the company to execute in 2026 which could add about $100 incrementally per share to the stock.
It’s a “prove me” year for Cupertino and we see significant upside from these levels as Appleremains a core name in the IVES AI 30 (IVES) and one of our favorite tech stocks for 2026,” said Ives and his team.
Wedbush’s four key strategic and financial goals for Apple in 2026.
Google Gemini partnership
The analysts believe Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) unit Google’s Gemini will be the exclusive partner for Apple’s AI strategy, and now that road is paved with the Google Department of Justice, or DOJ, win. The Street is waiting for a formal flagship partnership on AI as the consumer AI Revolution goes through Apple Park, the analysts added.
Introduce a revamped AI Siri (on time).
The analysts said developers and consumers are waiting patiently for the release of the new and improved Siri in the March/April timeframe.
The analysts noted that the personal assistant will be Apple’s answer to OpenAI’s (OPENAI) ChatGPT and Perplexity among other LLM models. The analysts expect an AI-driven subscription service to be launched and unveiled to Apple’s consumer installed base this summer.
Success on iPhone 17 sales and handing the baton to iPhone 18
Ives and his team believe Apple has the potential to see iPhone unit sales in 2026 that will exceed current Street estimates. “We are seeing strength in the China market in particular which should continue for Apple as a growth tailwind heading into the tail end of this iPhone 17 cycle and kicking off iPhone 18 this September,” said the analysts.
The analysts believe rising Average Selling Price, or ASPs, and finally the introduction of a foldable phone, likely during the September iPhone 18 product cycle, will be key. The analysts noted that they would expect ASPs to increase by about $100 on iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models due to the rising cost of production globally, which has become a concern from a product gross margin perspective.
Cook announces staying on as CEO given speculation.
Ives and his team said there is a growing chatter around CEO Tim Cook leaving his role as CEO over the coming year. “We disagree with this narrative and believe Cook will be CEO of Apple at least through the end of 2027 as this remains an integral period for Cupertino to design and execute on its broader AI Revolution strategy,” the analysts added.
The analysts noted that Apple is finally looking to go on the offensive by bringing more AI talent to the the company’s ecosystem to further bolster Apple Intelligence capabilities, including the key outside hire of renowned AI researcher Amar Subramanya.