The upcoming worldwide developers conference by Apple is expected to be a significant moment for the company, Wedbush's analysts wrote in a report, particularly as the tech giant is widely anticipated to reveal its artificial intelligence plans.
The worldwide developers conference will start on June 10th, and Wedbush analysts believe it will kickstart an "AI accelerated growth cycle" for iPhone and services.
The brokerage maintains an "outperform" rating on Apple stock with a 12-month target price of $275, offering a 41% upside from the current level.
Wedbush states that introducing AI technology to Apple's 220 million iOS device users will bring more monetization opportunities in both services and devices.
The Cupertino-based tech giant is also expected to officially announce a partnership with OpenAI and potentially launch AI models driven locally by its own devices. Wedbush also believes Apple might hint at launching an AI app store.
Wedbush says the introduction of AI will help Apple achieve a growth resurgence, especially for the upcoming iPhone 16. The company is also expected to integrate AI features into iOS 18.
AI is expected to help Apple offset the continued decline in hardware sales, particularly those of its flagship product, the iPhone. In the Chinese market, weak sales have persisted for over a year, becoming a major point of contention for the company.
Despite better-than-expected earnings in the first quarter, Apple's sales in China remain weak due to government scrutiny and intense competition from local rivals like Huawei and Xiaomi. However, the company's software services revenue remains relatively stable.
Apple has lagged behind its American tech counterparts in integrating AI features into its flagship devices—analysts say this is also one of the reasons for its recent sales decline.
