A wave of analyst upgrades after earnings is drawing investor attention as several Big Tech companies delivered solid results and optimistic guidance. With Apple Inc. (NASDAQ; AAPL) set to report after the closing bell, analysts are already positioning for another strong quarter.
Apple Draws Analyst Upgrades Ahead of Earnings
Expecting a solid report, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) reiterated its overweight rating on Apple and raised its price target to $315 from $305 ahead of Apple's first-quarter earnings.
Evercore ISI added Apple to its Tactical Outperform list, arguing that strong iPhone demand positions the company for strong earnings. The firm reiterated an Outperform rating and a $330 price target on Apple stock. Evercore expects iPhone revenue to climb 17% year over year, which would be well above calls for 11% growth.
And, according to CEO Tim Cook, "First-quarter revenue is expected to demonstrate year-over-year growth ranging from 10% to 12%, which translates to $136.7 billion to $139.2 billion. This would easily eclipse Apple's previous record-high quarterly revenue of $124.3 billion, set in the first quarter of fiscal 2025. What's more, it would stand as Apple's most significant year-over-year revenue jump since the first quarter of fiscal 2022, when it posted an 11.2% increase," as quoted by Seeking Alpha.
However, Apple isn't the only stock that analysts are gushing over.
Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) exploded after the company posted EPS of $8.88 on revenue of $59.89 billion. Those came in above estimates for $8.23 and $58.59 billion. Meta also issued strong guidance, expecting first-quarter sales of $53.5 billion to $56.5 billion, which is above estimates of $51.41 billion.
Analysts loved the news, with Barclays raising its price target to $800 from $770, with an overweight rating.
"After a jittery response to 3Q, META got back to business in 4Q. More impressive than the massive capex/opex growth is the ad rev trajectory, eclipsing 30% in 1Q, papering over many investor concerns. META continues to set the pace for the digital ad industry, with AI option value still ahead," added the firm, as quoted by CNBC.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) has an overweight rating with an $825 price target. JPMorgan has an overweight rating with an $825 price target. Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has a buy rating with an $835 price target. Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) has an overweight rating with an $849 price target. Citigroup (NYSE: C) has a buy rating with an $850 price target. UBS Group (NYSE: UBS) also has a buy rating with an $872 price target.
Bank of America Reiterates Buy on IBM
Analysts at Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) just reiterated a buy rating on IBM (NYSE: IBM), with a price target of $340. The firm noted that IBM posted an overall beat on topline numbers thanks to upside in Infrastructure, improving Transaction processing and solid growth in Data.
Not only did it just declare a $1.68 per share dividend (payable on March 10 for shareholders of record as of February 10), it also posted EPS of $4.52 billion, which was above expectations by 23 cents. Revenue of $19.69 billion, up 12.2%, beat by $480 million.
“In the fourth quarter, we delivered strong revenue growth, with double-digit Software performance. Additionally, Infrastructure continued its double-digit revenue growth with the robust adoption of the next generation of our mainframe platform. Our generative AI book of business now stands at more than $12.5 billion. This capped a strong 2025 for IBM where we exceeded expectations for revenue, profit and free cash flow,” said Arvind Krishna, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer.
“We enter 2026 with momentum and in a position of strength, giving us confidence in our full-year expectations of more than 5 percent constant currency revenue growth and an increase of about $1 billion in year-over-year free cash flow.”
Microsoft Slides on Guidance, But Analyst Support Holds
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) reported that cloud growth slowed in the second quarter. It also issued soft guidance on operating margins.
The good news is that MSFT’s EPS of $4.14 was better than the estimates of $3.97. Revenue of $81.27 billion was also higher than the estimates for $80.27 billion. With guidance, the company called for revenue of between $80.65 billion and $81.75 billion, with its mid-range of $81.2 billion meeting estimates of $81.19 billion.
With the stock dropping, Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) reiterated a buy rating on MSFT with a $575 price target. The firm noted that MSFT "reported another solid result for F2Q, but it ultimately fell short of more lofty market expectations, in particular for Azure growth," as quoted by CNBC.
Analyst Upgrades Signal Continued Confidence in Big Tech
The latest round of analyst upgrades after earnings suggests Wall Street remains confident in the long-term outlook for Big Tech. While short-term volatility may follow guidance updates or elevated expectations, consistent earnings strength and AI-driven growth continue to support bullish sentiment across the sector.
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