Apple (AAPL) an eventful spring is approaching. It’s the kind of “quietly huge” setup that investors in AAPL stock love.
Plan more releases. One grand narrative will dominate. And the scoreboard couldn’t be clearer.
For me, the narrative unfolds with Apple’s most recent earnings. CEO Tim Cook was dealing with superlatives when he described the December quarter as a “Remarkable, record-breaking term.”
Apple reported 143.8 billion dollars in revenue and said its installed base exceeded 2.5 billion active devices. This is the kind of scale that makes even “boring” refreshes become important events in the ecosystem.
But the scoreboard is starting to change. In the earnings call, Cook said Apple continues to see “market prices for memory grow significantly.”
The comments suggest Apple is issuing a reminder: The next few quarters may be less about demand and more about protecting its margins.
I’m sure you’ve seen examples in your family of people wanting to hang on to their perfectly working old iPhones. The most common reason, at least in my experience, is that new ones are too expensive.
Now, the most famous users connected to the iPhone are Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg. I’m sure their wallets won’t get any lighter thanks to the latest version of the iPhone.
However, Apple aims to prioritize the needs of the average user this time. Therefore, in the next wave, he wants to make things more accessible, focusing on increasing the margin to widen the funnel.
His release iPhone 17e is imminent, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
It will have four upgrades that matter in the real world. A19, MagSafe (as described by The Verge), the newest Apple C1X modemand them N1 connectivity chip are the upgrades included in what’s coming out “imminent”.
More tech stocks:
I bet you’re thinking, “Hey, I know someone who skipped the cheaper iPhone because it felt like a ‘yeah, but…’ device.” However, MagSafe is looking to change things with car mounts, wallets, charging cradles, and its entire ecosystem of accessories.
And it looks like Apple is keeping the price at $599targeting emerging markets and enterprises buyers. These buyers generally care more about reliability and total cost of ownership than status.
The iPad Spring Story is simple and basic. The focus is on the same shells, with faster chips.
-
The Input iPad is expected to jump to A18according to Mac Rumors. That will bring Apple Intelligence support for Apple’s cheapest tablet for the first time.
-
The iPad Air will move to M4.
If you’re the person everyone contacts when an older iPad starts to slow down, this is the type of upgrade that matters.
A basic model that can operate Apple’s AI functions cleanly gives Apple a simple presentation for schools, families and businesses that buy in bulk.
Related: Apple History: Company Timeline and Facts
Hardware is responsible for selling units, but software sells trust.
Gurman’s reporting says that Apple will release the first beta version to developers iOS 26.4 the week of February 23rd.
Siri will be available again after a long wait. Apple Intelligence pieces are likely to appear there.
Recent updates are not attractive. I hate it when we talk in hyperbolic terms about any action. That’s what I like about the latest upgrades.
-
Maximal upgraded apple to buy FROM YOU (PT $300).
-
KGI Securities upgraded apple to EXCEED FROM neutral (PT $306).
-
Separated, JP Morgan she reiterated overweight rating and raised its target to $315.
However, the short-term push-pull trajectory is evident. Demand, all things considered, remains very strong. However, the price tension of components, especially memory, is becoming more and more pronounced.
Apple is not traditional when it comes to revenue guidance.
Here are two simple ways investors are framing the next quarter.
-
Back-of-the-envelope range (year-over-year growth over last year’s March quarter): Apple did it $95.4 billion in revenue from Q2 fiscal 2025. If Apple prints +10% to +12% YoY (roughly in line with where a lot of sell-side expectations cluster), that implies approx. $104.9 billion to $106.8 billion this March quarter.
-
“Street” snapshot (consensus style framing): The FactSet estimates cited by Investor’s Business Daily refer to the March quarter around Revenue of $104.9 billion and $1.84 EPS.
However, there is also a margin factor. Apple is heading for a gross margin for the current quarter of 48% to 49%; Cook highlights memory spending as a headwind beyond T2.
Related: Wall Street Urgently Warns Software Stocks After Anthropic AI Move
This story was originally published by TheStreet on February 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Investing section. Add TheStreet as a favorite source by clicking here.