This analyst has a long history on Wall Street, because of that. Whenever AAPL rallies like today 325.68 +2.8% intraday - Fox Business and others will use bears like Craig Moffett to counter the bull case. (so the news channels can stay neutral)

As for Craig Moffett's recent track record. It is bad, no, it sucks with an annual return of -4.7% overall over last 3 years. Check out Tipsrank

His target for AAPL 2 years ago was 139, and now 270. So it is more dangerous for bulls when Craig Moffett turns bullish on AAPL in the future.

B

1. Apple's restructured European App Store fees (reducing base commissions to 26% and setting clear third-party transaction terms) have helped ease lingering regulatory friction.  Starting Oct 1, 2026

2. Redburn forecasting 14M 18 Ultra folding iPhones in FY2027 at $2199 and 11% higher iPhone ASP by June 2027 with potential revenue upside to 2030

Timm Schulze-Melander of Rothschild with a 78% success rate upgraded his AAPL rating by 2 levels to Buy with a +154% target raise to $400 a share. (the Street highest)

His take mainly on

1. The Foldable "iPhone Ultra" Expansion

2. A "Fast Follower" Apple Intelligence Strategy

3. AI Gatekeeper Status & Open-Source Fleet (possible cooperation with NVDA)

4. Macro Squeeze on Competitors

The Street average target went to 338.99 from 336.33 after this.

Disclaimer: I hold 16.1K shares of AAPL

Under CEO Tim Cook, today's AAPL action after earnings is the second worst in his tenure.

The -12.36% on 1/23/2013 was the worst. AAPL before earnings was +1.83%, compared to -1.41% yesterday.

The complete Tim Cook QTR results are below

$AAPL

333.43 -1.4% Close
Post results 325.10 -2.50%

Q3 2026 🍎
EPS 1.91 > 1.89 Beat
REV 109.42 > 108.65 Beat
Operating Expenses 19
iPhone 54.25 > 53.86 Beat
Service 30.74 < 31.22 Miss
Gross Margin 50.1 > 48 Beat
iPad 6.19 < 6.92 Miss
Mac 10.35 > 8.74 BIG BEAT
Wearables, Home, and Accessories 7.88 > 7.82 Beat
Greater China 18.82 > 17.50 Beat

Cash in hand 146.5

Thank You

Tim Cook

for 15 years as

Apple

CEO

Disclaimer: I am long 16.1K AAPL shares, most since late 2008.

Not often has AAPL stock sport a lofty PE above 40, but we have that at 41.2 and ahead of Thursday's 3Q earnings at 4:30PM EST.

Before this current period, it previously crossed above 40 during late 2024, especially in Dec 2024.

Recent Valuation Peaks

• July 2026: Trailing P/E is roughly 40.27 to 41.15 with a stock price near $340.33.
• Late 2024: Reached a quarterly peak near 40.44 to 58.71 depending on the specific calculation date and trailing EPS metrics during the late 2024 reporting periods.

AAPL PE the last two decades

• Apple PE Ratio 2012-2026 | AAPL - Macrotrends Apple PE ratio as of July 27, 2026 is 40.27. Current and historical p/e ratio for Apple (AAPL) from 2012 to 2026. The price to ear... Macrotrends
• AAPL - Apple PE ratio, current and historical analysis - FullRatio The mean historical PE ratio of Apple over the last ten years is 24.86. The current 41.2 PE ratio is 65% above the historical ave... FullRatio
• AAPL PE Ratio (TTM): 41.15 — 53% Above Median

In late 2024, when Apple's P/E ratio spiked into the 40.44 to 58.71 range, the stock traded between $225 and $259 per share. The compression of that high P/E ratio down into the 30s during 2025 was driven by a combination of both factors: a moderate stock price decline and rising corporate earnings.

Stock Price and P/E Behavior (Late 2024 to 2025)

The correction of Apple's high 2024 valuation unfolded through two distinct mechanics:

• The Stock Price Cool-Off: Shares did not experience a catastrophic crash, but they did experience a moderate pullback. After peaking near $259 in December 2024, the stock drifted downward over the next few months, hitting a low of roughly $198 by April 2025. 
• The Earnings Growth Factor: Simultaneously, Apple's fundamental financial health strengthened. As net income and Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) Earnings Per Share (EPS) continued to scale upward throughout 2025, the denominator of the P/E equation grew larger.

This dual pressure—a softer share price combined with an expanding corporate bottom line—successfully normalized the P/E ratio back down to a more sustainable 30.7 to 34.3 range by mid-to-late 2025, clearing the runway for the stock's eventual rally to its current 2026 highs. 

So there you have it, will Thursday's 3Q 2026 results lower this 41.2 PE considerably? Chances are with a blowout fantastic result, the PE may not go much lower than 35, still higher than the median 30-35 range.

It has become apparent AAPL has taken over MSFT's historic PE in the mid to high 30s for a sustainable enterprise recurring revenue and earnings stream that's secular. With its iCloud, Apple Pay, TV+, etc., has Apple taken over this market position?

We'll all see Thursday

While AAPL stock has taken the number 1 market cap hundreds of time from others for a day or a few, to a week, etc. There had been 5 major times where AAPL took over an incumbent that has occupied the Number One seat.

1. The Oil to Tech Era (August 2011)

• Who they climbed over: ExxonMobil
• The Milestone Date: August 10, 2011 (First ever daily close at #1)
• The Context: Apple briefly crossed ExxonMobil intraday on August 9, 2011, before officially securing the crown at the closing bell the following day with a market cap of $337.2 billion. This marked a historic macro shift from energy dominance to consumer technology. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

2. Regaining Leadership from Microsoft (February 2019)

• Who they climbed over: Microsoft
• The Milestone Date: Early February 2019
• The Context: After hitting a milestone $1 trillion market cap in August 2018, a late-2018 tech selloff allowed Microsoft to steal the #1 spot. Apple reclaimed the crown in early 2019 by riding massive expansion in its high-margin Services sector (Apple Music, iCloud). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

3. Surcharging Past State-Backed Energy (August 2020)

• Who they climbed over: Saudi Aramco
• The Milestone Date: July 31 / August 1, 2020
• The Context: Saudi Aramco went public in late 2019 and instantly took the #1 spot. Amid the pandemic, global oil demand collapsed while remote work skyrocketed. Apple surged past the state oil giant to hit a $2 trillion market cap shortly after. [1, 2]

4. The Post-Pandemic Tech Battle (Late 2023 – Mid 2024)

• Who they climbed over: Microsoft
• The Milestone Date: Reclaimed multiple times through June 2024
• The Context: Microsoft and Apple traded the top spot back and forth relentlessly. Apple briefly lost the crown in early 2024 due to stagnant iPhone sales but heavily reclaimed it by mid-2024 following the announcement of its device-native AI ecosystem. [1, 2]

5. The Core Tech vs. AI Infrastructure Pivot (July 2026)

• Who they climbed over: Nvidia
• The Milestone Date: July 17, 2026
• The Context: Following a monumental surge where Nvidia briefly held the crown, Wall Street cooled on pure-play AI infrastructure hyperscalers. Apple reclaimed the #1 global spot with a $4.88 trillion valuation as investors rotated capital back into consumer hardware, ecosystem monetization, and strong iPhone 17 cycles. On July 28, 2026, Apple also briefly touched the historic $5 trillion market cap line for the first time.

Disclaimer: I am long 16K AAPL and 13K NVDA

Took this at New York Mets Citi Fields during their July Fireworks night. Used Dolby Vision for Luna Ultra and Normal 10 bits color for Pocket 4P. Minimal post with Final Cut Pro and share as 422 BT2020 PQ for YouTube upload. I found this format is the fastest for PQ/HLG processing into 4K HDR. Hours instead of days/weeks.

Watch in Safari or Chrome with hardware acceleration or current iPhones. Please select 2160p HDR for best results.

https://youtu.be/8fR_8Lk3ftc

30 Street Apple analysts have an average target price of 324.23 on AAPL, high of 400 and low at 250 (this one guy been wrong since 162)

It is likely in coming days & weeks, analysts will update price targets as well as upgrading to strong buys.

AAPL with a 3 day Bullish Breakout with a Mid-Trend Pause "Bull Flag Variation" Candlestick pattern. 🚀

The economics news today was reported by CNBC for Regulatory clearance in China for Apple Intelligence

The pause yesterday was likely from a Sell rating from Brandon Nispel of
KeyBanc. He has been neutral on AAPL since October 2023 when Apple shares were at 168

Disclaimer: I remain long 16K AAPL shares

For this short week, Strikes from 25 to 380 are available.

There had been talk of a Gamma squeeze with options online. This is a major concern if SPCX became a 3, 4, and 5 Trillion stock in a day. Causing massive selloffs in other assets.

Addressing this, CBOE starts SPCX options with many strikes, making a G Squeeze less likely as options activity is scattered across many different strike prices.

Too few strikes can contribute to massive concentration of volume at a few specific strike prices, causing a launching effect.

Right now, at the money could be 200 by the time market opens. 5 to 10% premium may be the price of admission for this thrill ride.