Apple analysts bullish as product diversity limits virus impact

Analysts remained bullish following Apple Inc.'s quarterly earnings report, despite the company refraining from giving guidance for the first time in more than a decade.

The Cupertino, California-based firm's laptop and iPad businesses are benefiting from increased home-working, while the core iPhone unit should recover once lockdowns are lifted, analysts said, with several raising price targets on the stock.

Given current headwinds, quarterly revenue growth of 1% was a win and "is representative of the strength of Apple's presence in our lives," Loup Ventures's Gene Munster said in a note.

Morgan Stanley highlighted Apple's commitment to shareholder returns after the group increased its stock-repurchase program by $50 billion, while UBS said the firm hinted at seeing demand improvement in the latter weeks of April.

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Apple's stock was little changed for the year heading into the report, but slipped 3.2% to $284.54 a share in pre-market trading.

Here's a summary of what analysts had to say:

Piper Sandler, Harsh Kumar

Apple reported March quarter results "nicely above" Street estimates, but the big news was the company not providing June quarter guidance.

For Apple's fiscal third quarter, working and learning from home should provide solid trends in the iPad and Mac segments, but economic uncertainty is causing iPhone trends to worsen.

Morgan Stanley, Katy Huberty

Mac and iPad trends are expected to improve in the June quarter, but that will be offset by iPhone and wearables, which are less likely to shift to online purchases.

App Store and digital-services growth is sustainable, but Apple Care will slow amid store closings. Advertising revenue will also slow amid global macro weakness.

The net effect is full-year 2020 revenue and earnings per share estimates increasing 4%-5%.

UBS, Timothy Arcuri

While the company did not provide guidance, it was "directionally constructive" in that it has seen an improvement in demand during the second half of April, both within and outside of China, partly due to government stimulus.

Cowen, Krish Sankar

Apple's March quarter results were better than consensus in an uncertain environment. As expected, there was no June quarter guidance.

The services segment continues to benefit from the home working environment, while the cash flow-generating iPhone business should improve when lockdowns end.