Apple Inc. (AAPL) has been reaffirmed with a "Buy" rating by BofA Global Research, maintaining a price objective of $265. The report highlights robust growth in Apple's App Store, with global revenue up 18% y/y and downloads increasing by 6% y/y in January. This growth is driven by a 17% y/y increase in App Store revenue in China and a notable 48% y/y rise in the Productivity app category, largely fueled by the popularity of ChatGPT. BofA notes, "We are seeing strong diversification in app store revs by category away from the Gaming segment as more developers from other categories monetize apps."
The report also addresses potential risks from the EU's Digital Markets Act, which allows sideloading of apps, potentially compromising user safety. Despite these concerns, BofA models a 12% y/y growth in services revenue for F2Q25, with a full-year estimate of 13% y/y growth, suggesting that these projections could be conservative if current trends persist.
Apple's stock was trading at $229.03, up 0.45% on February 4, at 10:00.