Apple's (AAPL) stock price has suffered amid concerns about a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:slowdown in China sales, with shares down nearly 9% from the start of the year as of Tuesday's close, but analysts say they're bullish on the stock despite headwinds in China. Some of the reasons they gave included pent-up iPhone demand, App Store revenue growth, and an announcement related to 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:artificial intelligence (AI) expected in June.

Pent-Up iPhone Demand Around Upgrade Cycle

The current quarter could be a “brutal” one for Appl෴e, Wedbush analysts said Monday, anticipating a decline in China iPhone sales from the year-ago quarter as competition from Chinese rivals like Huawei combined with a softer Chinese economy and geopolitical headwinds weigh on Apple’s sales.

However, Wedbush analysts said they were convinced after a recent trip to Asia that supply chain data supports a better-than-expected outlook for the region, and that other regions such as Europe and India could help to balance out Apple's 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:weakness in China sales. They noted Apple CEO Tim Cook also 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:made anoth🤡er trip to China in March seeking to cement the coꦐmpany’s relationships there with its supply chain and consumers ahead of the iPhone 16 release later this fall.

The analysts suggested pent-up demand around an upgrade cycle could exceed 270 million iPhones and that Apple could start to see a "renaissance of growth heading into the September quarter and FY25."

App Store Revenue Growth Boosting Services 

A bright spot for Apple continues to be its services segment, with Wedbush analysts writing services "remains rock solid with double digit growth
" and Bank of America analysts citing Sensor Tower data estimating Apple’s App Store generated $7.4 billion in revenue in the second quarter of 2024, up from $6.7 billion in the same period a year ago.

Bank of America analysts projected revenue growth of 11% year-on-year for Apple's services segment in the fiscal second quarter, adding they "view resiliency in Services as a long-term bullish indicator."

Apple said in its fiscal first-quarter earnings release earlier this year that its services segment 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:reached a revenue record of $23.1 billion, up from $20.7 billion a year earlier. The company’s installed base of devices also reached a record of 2.2 billion, which could help power further services growth.

An AI Annoucement Expected in June

Apple has lagged some of its 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Magnificent Seven peers in the rush to monetize AI. However, an announcement related to the company’s AI plans could come at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC24) on June 10.

Cook said in the company's 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:first-quarter earnings call in February𒁃 that the company is working on AI projects "that we'll be t🎶alking about later this year," with Apple widely expected to release more details at WWDC24.

Wedbush analysts cited potential AI gains as a key reason for their bullish stance. Bank of America analysts also said they anticipate Apple could benefit from a multi-year upgrade cycle driven by generative AI.