Bernstein Lowers Apple Margin Estimates Amid Rising Memory Costs

Bernstein's SocGen Group has reiterated its Outperform rating on Apple Inc. (AAPL) with a price target of $370.00.

The firm is concerned about potential pressure on Apple's gross margins due to rising memory costs, which could negatively impact the company's earnings per share in the December quarter.

Bernstein's analysis suggests that Apple's blended iPhone gross margin and Apple gross margin will be 39.6% and 45.8%, respectively, which are notably lower than the company's reported 48.7% gross profit margin over the last twelve months.

The firm also noted that stronger international pricing provides a partial offset to these concerns, but still estimates a $2.87 EPS for the December quarter, which is 2% below consensus.