Apple Stock Plunges 5% After Earnings Report

Apple's stock price fell nearly 5% after its fiscal third-quarter 2026 earnings report, but investors are weighing whether to buy the stock now. The drop was caused by Apple's guidance for just 9-11% September-quarter revenue growth and a gross margin expected to slip to 47-48%. Outgoing CEO Tim Cook described the memory shortage as a 'hundred-year flood' during the earnings call.

Wall Street's Apple stock forecast is split, with four brokerages cutting price targets while three raised them. Morgan Stanley turned more cautious, pointing to supply constraints and margin pressure. However, Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani took a more optimistic view, calling Apple's guidance 'conservative'.

Apple's current leadership change could also play a role in investors' decisions. Cook is handing over the CEO role to hardware chief John Ternus on September 1 and moving into the executive chairman seat. The company enters its fall product cycle with a redesigned, Google-powered Siri and an installed base of more than 2.5 billion active devices.