Bank of America kept a Buy rating and a $380 price target on Apple in a Sept. 8 note, implying about 20% upside from the stock's close that day. The target rests on earnings estimates that run 3% to 4% above consensus and a multiple above Apple's five-year range, as John Ternus prepares to lead his first product launch as CEO.
Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan filed a note on Sept. 8 that kept Apple's rating and $380 price target unchanged. Apple shares closed at $316.22 that day, down 1.17% on the session, leaving the stock roughly 8% below its 52-week high of $344.57 set in late July.
The company's market cap sits near $4.61 trillion. Bank of America's $380 target implies about 20% upside from the Sept. 8 close.
What Bank of America expects from the iPhone 18 lineup
Mohan expects three phones on stage: the iPhone 18 Pro, the Pro Max, and Apple's first foldable, likely branded Ultra or Fold. He models price increases of $150 to $200 across the Pro line to absorb higher memory and storage costs, and points to media reports putting the foldable at $2,099, which would make it the most expensive iPhone the company has ever sold.
The note models fiscal 2026 revenue of $477 billion, up about 15% from a year earlier, and fiscal 2026 earnings of $8.85 a share, up roughly 19%. It also projects fiscal 2027 earnings of $9.92 a share and September-quarter revenue of $112.7 billion with earnings of $1.97 a share. The base iPhone 18, the 18 Air, and the 18e have slipped to spring 2027, leaving only premium models on shelves through the holiday selling season.
The target rests on earnings running ahead of the Street
Bank of America's fiscal 2027 estimate of $9.92 a share sits about 3% above the $9.59 Bloomberg consensus figure cited in the note, and roughly 4% above the $9.51 Visible Alpha number. The fiscal 2028 estimate clears both as well.
The multiple points the same way. A $380 objective works out to about 37 times calendar 2027 earnings of $10.32 a share, above the five-year range of 19 to 35 times and well clear of the 27 times median. Bank of America also models September-quarter earnings of $1.97 a share, a penny under the $1.98 analysts expect.
Other analysts hold lower targets
Not every analyst shares Mohan's view. KeyBanc Capital Markets holds an Underweight rating and a $250 target, modeling iPhone 18 builds near 80 million units across the September and December quarters, down from about 91 million a year earlier. MoffettNathanson lifted its target to $304 from $270 and stayed at Neutral.
The average 12-month target across 44 analysts sits at $324.53, well below Bank of America's $380 figure. John Ternus took over as CEO on Sept. 1, and the Sept. 9 event is his first as chief executive. The December quarter, reported in late January, will show whether Bank of America's earnings math holds.
Source: TheStreet
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