Evercore ISI has reiterated an Outperform rating on Apple stock and maintained a $330.00 price target, citing ongoing expansion in App Store revenues despite headwinds within parts of the ecosystem. The analyst note keeps the price objective well above Apple’s most recently quoted share price of $267.39. Market data referenced in the report indicate the stock may be trading above its fair value, carrying a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88.
January App Store receipts increased 7% year-over-year, a slight acceleration from the 6% year-over-year growth recorded the prior month, according to Evercore ISI’s data. The performance masks a clear divergence by category: gaming, which represents 45% of App Store revenue, contracted by 3% year-over-year, marking the third straight month of declines in that largest segment.
Non-gaming verticals delivered stronger results. Music and the report’s "Other" category each posted 21% year-over-year growth. Photo & Video climbed 18%, Social Networking expanded 11%, and Entertainment rose 10%. Evercore notes that excluding gaming, aggregate App Store revenues would have expanded 17% year-over-year in January, substantially outpacing the headline rate once the gaming slump is removed.
Geographic breakdowns showed mixed outcomes. The U.S. App Store grew 3% year-over-year in January, while China and Japan - Apple’s second- and third-largest App Store markets - each declined 1% year-over-year. Evercore also highlighted improving momentum in those Asian markets, reporting that year-over-year growth accelerated by 350 basis points in China and by 260 basis points in Japan.
For the December quarter, App Store revenue growth was modest at 6.5%, but Apple’s total Services revenue grew faster, up 14% year-over-year in the same quarter. Evercore’s view is that other Services - including payments, cloud storage, and licensing businesses - are offsetting softer App Store expansion and contributing meaningfully to overall Services growth.
On a company-wide basis, Apple recorded total revenue of $435.62 billion over the trailing twelve months, and the firm’s market capitalization stood at $3.92 trillion in the data cited. The firm’s recent fiscal Q1 2026 results also reinforced the picture of multi-product strength: Apple reported revenue of $143.8 billion and earnings per share of $2.84, each beating analysts’ expectations of $138.4 billion and $2.67. That quarter represented a 15.7% year-over-year increase in total revenue, with iPhone sales rising 23% and Services expanding 13.9%.
Following the strong quarterly report, Evercore ISI removed Apple from its tactical outperform list, adjusting its short-term positioning even as it kept the Outperform rating and $330 price target. Several other sell-side firms maintained or adjusted their recommendations in the wake of the results. BofA Securities reiterated a Buy rating and a $325 price target, pointing to a 6.3% year-over-year increase in App Store revenue. Bernstein SocGen Group reiterated an Outperform rating with a $325 price objective, calling attention to Apple’s resilience amid cost and supply challenges. DA Davidson held a Neutral rating with a $270 price target after Apple topped revenue and profit expectations. TD Cowen reiterated a Buy rating and a $325 price target, citing potential upside from AI-driven enhancements to Siri and robust revenue projections for March 2026.
The Evercore note and the accompanying data highlight a company whose growth is increasingly driven by diversified software and services revenue, even as the App Store shows clear dispersion between gaming and non-gaming categories and uneven regional patterns. Investors and analysts continue to weigh those dynamics as they assess valuation multiples, near-term tactical positioning, and longer-term earnings power.
Context for investors
Apple’s App Store remains a major revenue driver but is showing category-level polarization: significant traction outside gaming, offset by persistent weakness within gaming. Services overall are supporting higher-margin revenue growth and helped the company exceed consensus in the most recent quarter, but valuation metrics suggest the market already prices a high premium for that future growth.