Apple's stock reached an all-time intraday high of $345.34 on Tuesday, before closing at $339.75, pushing the company's market capitalization to approximately $4.96 trillion. During the session, the shares briefly pushed Apple above the $5 trillion threshold, according to Dow Jones Market Data. This marks the third time Apple has touched that milestone in intraday trading, following similar moves on July 28 and July 29.
Despite these flirtations, Nvidia remains the only company to have closed a trading session above the $5 trillion mark. Apple's latest advance has lifted its shares 25% this year, outpacing the roughly 10% gain in the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF and the 13.4% rise in the S&P 500. The rally has accelerated since the company's September product launch, with shares up 7.2% since the beginning of the month.
iPhone Duo: A new growth avenue
The centerpiece of Apple's latest lineup is the iPhone Duo, the company's first foldable smartphone. Alongside the Duo, Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max under new CEO John Ternus, and announced further Apple Intelligence updates through iOS 27 and macOS 27. The foldable device introduces a new premium category at a time when Apple is seeking to extract more revenue from its installed base.
Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan, who has a $370 price target on Apple, sees the Duo as a significant form-factor change. "The Duo represents a meaningful form-factor change after a long time and seamlessly integrates hardware and software," Mohan wrote in a note following the September 9 announcement. JPMorgan's Samik Chatterjee also expects a positive volume cycle despite higher prices, citing leasing arrangements, trade-ins, and carrier subsidies as mechanisms that could help consumers absorb price increases. Citi has called the Duo "Apple's biggest new hardware category since the watch and AirPods."
Supply constraints could fuel demand
One of the most bullish arguments around the Duo is that Apple may initially struggle to manufacture enough devices to meet demand. Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani, who has a Buy rating and a $365 price target, expects early sales to be constrained by production rather than consumer appetite. "This phone is going to sell as many units as Apple can produce, at least in the near term, the next 3 to 6 months," Daryanani said. He estimates that if the Duo captures just 5% of Apple's installed base, it could generate approximately $25 billion in revenue.
Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster has also raised his expectations. Since the iPhone lineup was announced, consensus iPhone revenue estimates for FY27 have come up by 3%, or $9.5 billion. Munster attributes most of these revisions to the addition of Duo revenue. He estimates that if the additional $9.5 billion were attributed entirely to the Duo at an average selling price of $2,100, the current consensus would imply about 4.5 million units in fiscal 2027. However, because only around half of analysts had updated their models at the time of his analysis, the actual Street expectation could be closer to 7 million units.
Munster believes even those higher estimates may underestimate the Duo's potential. "My take is the Street is too low for FY27 Duo. I believe a realistic view is that 35% of Pro Max users will make the move to Duo," he wrote. He projects that Duo will account for about 8% of units next year and 14% of iPhone revenue. That forecast highlights the foldable's outsized effect on Apple's financial results, even if it represents a relatively small portion of total iPhone shipments. The higher average selling price also gives Apple an opportunity to grow revenue without relying entirely on expanding unit volumes.
Rick Munarriz of The Motley Fool similarly sees significant potential, provided Apple avoids major hardware problems. As long as the iPhone Duo doesn't launch next month with a major flaw, the device could be a major catalyst.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
