AAPL Falls After Jefferies Downgrades Stock Over 20th Anniversary iPhone Setback — But Gene Munster Sees ‘Strong Next 12 Months’

• Jefferies described the cancellation of the all-glass model as a “major setback” to Apple’s efforts to introduce higher-priced iPhones, particularly as memory costs continue to rise.
• The firm said the planned device was expected to be part of Apple’s strategy to bring more premium features to its iPhone lineup.
• Gene Munster remained positive on Apple, saying its 9% to 11% September-quarter revenue growth guidance was “much better” than initially perceived.

Shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL) are in focus on Monday after Jefferies downgraded the stock, citing concerns around the company's planned 20th-anniversary iPhone.

According to TheFly, Jefferies analysts said in a note that their supply-chain checks suggest Apple has canceled the planned all-glass iPhone due to poor production yields, which was expected to launch in September 2027.

Apple shares were down more than 2% in Monday’s opening trade.

Jefferies Calls Cancellation A ‘Major Setback’ For AAPL

Jefferies downgraded Apple to ‘Underperform’ from ‘Hold’ and lowered its price target to $263.66 from $285.56, following its supply-chain checks on the company’s iPhone plans. The new price target implies a downside of about 14% from current levels.

The firm described the cancellation of the all-glass model as a “major setback” to Apple’s efforts to introduce higher-priced iPhones, particularly as memory costs continue to rise. Jefferies said the planned device was expected to be part of Apple’s strategy to bring more premium features to its iPhone lineup.

The firm also believes Apple had planned to extend the all-glass design to future iPhone Pro and Pro Max models, meaning the reported cancellation could affect a broader product roadmap beyond the 20th-anniversary model.

Jefferies also cut its fiscal year 2028 and 2029 earnings per share (EPS) estimates by approximately 2% and 3%, respectively.

Gene Munster Sees ‘Strong Next 12 Months’ For AAPL

Deepwater Asset Management’s Managing Partner, Gene Munster, struck an optimistic tone on Apple during a CNBC interview.

Munster said that he remains positive on Apple, pointing to the company’s September-quarter revenue guidance of 9% to 11%. He noted that the outlook included a roughly 2.5% foreign exchange headwind as well as a negative impact from inventory dynamics, adding that the guidance was “much better” than what investors initially thought.

Munster also expects Apple to see a shift in its iPhone upgrade cycle. He said high-end iPhones, which typically account for about 60% of new iPhone sales, could see stronger upgrades this fall, while roughly 40% of those upgrades could shift into the March or June quarter next year.

“Effectively what happens is that you get more juice out of September, because people who cannot hold off, are going to upgrade to the more expensive phones. And then separately, you get that extra boost kind of next year. The net effect of that [is] that you're going to get higher sales,” he said.

Munster Sees Major Consumer Hardware Upgrade Cycle Next Year

Munster expects a major consumer hardware upgrade cycle to begin around mid-to-late 2027 and continue for several years, driven by personalized AI performing inference on devices, adding that this trend should benefit Apple and other hardware makers.

“When you put this together, I think the shares are undervalued, and you're going to see a strong next 12 months,” he said.

Munster also cautioned that iPhone prices could be increased by 15%, or about $125 based on an average selling price of $850. He believes that the impact on iPhone demand due to this expected price increase will be modest, while Apple’s revenue could get an 8% to 10% boost as a result.

Munster added that the opportunity due to personalized, on-device AI is a much bigger one for Apple than the near- to medium-term headwinds due to memory prices.

What Retail Traders Think Of AAPL Stock

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Apple trended in the ‘bullish’ territory at the time of writing.

AAPL stock is up 13% year-to-date and 34% over the past 12 months. The S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is up 21% over the past 12 months, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) is up 26%.

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