For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – June 15, 2026 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Apple AAPL, Netflix NFLX and Disney DIS.
Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:
Apple Continues to Expand Services Business: What's the Path Ahead?
Apple is benefiting from the rapid expansion and diversification of the Services business, which has become a key growth driver of the company’s performance. In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, Services contributed 27.9% of total net sales, with revenues rising 16.3% year over year to $30.98 billion, which was a record in Apple’s history.
This robust performance was broad-based, with double-digit growth in both developed and emerging markets and new all-time revenue records across most Services categories. The Services segment now includes offerings such as Apple TV, Apple Music, iCloud, the App Store, Apple Pay and new enterprise solutions, all of which are supported by Apple’s vast installed base of over 2.5 billion active devices.
The company continues to integrate new features and expand the breadth of its services. Apple recently unveiled a range of AI-powered enhancements across its services, set to arrive with its 2027 software releases this fall. Key updates include richer Flyover views and Local Lists in Apple Maps, more flexible item-sharing in Find My and Apple Cash bill-splitting powered by Visual Intelligence.
Apple is also expanding video podcast support on Mac and tvOS, redesigning Shared Albums in iCloud and introducing a new Apple Fitness+ program. The updates aim to make Apple’s ecosystem more intelligent, personalized and collaborative while improving everyday experiences across navigation, payments, media, cloud storage and fitness services.
Apple’s Services business is on a strong upward trajectory, driven by ecosystem expansion, innovation and a focus on both consumer and enterprise needs. For the June quarter, management expects Services to grow at a similar year-over-year rate to the March quarter after removing the favorable impact from foreign exchange.
Apple Faces Stiff Competition
Apple is suffering from stiff competition from the likes of Netflix and Disney. Both Netflix and Disney are expanding their footprint in domains like streaming and gaming.
Netflix is expanding its service offerings by investing in podcasts, live sports events and gaming, including a new kids’ gaming app called Netflix Playground. The company is also leveraging technology like AI to enhance content creation and user experience.
Disney is benefiting from its streaming segment, which has achieved a remarkable transformation, delivering sustainable profitability. The combined Disney+ and Hulu platform now generates consistent operating income, driven by disciplined pricing strategies and robust subscriber engagement. Entertainment SVOD revenues grew 13% year over year to $5.49 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, while Entertainment SVOD operating income surged 88% to $582 million. The integration of Hulu content into Disney+ creates a comprehensive entertainment ecosystem that enhances customer retention and reduces churn.
AAPL’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Apple shares have gained 8.8% year to date, underperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s return of 13.2%.
AAPL stock is trading at a premium, with forward 12-month price/earnings of 31.78X compared with the Computer and Technology sector’s 24.01X. AAPL has a Value Score of F.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $8.75 per share, which has increased by a couple of pennies over the past 30 days. This suggests 17.29% year-over-year growth.
Apple Inc. price-consensus-chart | Apple Inc. Quote
Apple currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).