Citigroup gives Apple a "Buy" rating, betting on the WWDC25 ecosystem upgrade
Citi has given Apple a "Buy" rating with a target price of $240, believing that investor expectations for the 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) are relatively low. WWDC25 will be held on June 9, and it is expected to announce the latest software updates for products such as iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Although the AI-supported Siri feature has been postponed to 2026, Citi remains optimistic about Apple's advantages in the era of personal AI service devices, emphasizing its full-stack layout and user data foundation
According to Zhitong Finance APP, Citigroup has given Apple (AAPL.US) a "Buy" rating with a target price of $240. The bank believes that investors have low expectations for Apple's 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).
WWDC 25 is scheduled to open on June 9, with the theme "Breakthrough updates coming to all Apple platforms." The event is expected to announce the latest software updates for products such as iPhone, iPad, and Mac, as well as new features for Apple Intelligence.
Although the delay of the AI-supported personalized Siri feature until 2026 has put pressure on the stock price, Citigroup believes that Apple, with its full-stack layout, can still maintain an advantage in the era of personal AI service devices. Apple has the capability of in-house chip design, seamless integration of hardware, software, and service ecosystems, as well as a massive data foundation of 2.35 billion users, which can continuously optimize the user experience.
Apple plans to change the naming format of its operating systems to be based on the year, meaning that the systems released at WWDC 2025 will be named iOS 26, macOS 26, iPadOS 26, etc. In addition to the naming, the multi-device user interface is expected to undergo significant innovation, with a more unified and simplified design, notably resembling the Vision Pro operating system. Citigroup believes these updates highlight Apple's ongoing investment in creating a more consistent and integrated ecosystem, as well as its emphasis on spatial computing.
Beyond all operating system updates, Citigroup believes the focus remains on the upgrade of Apple Intelligence. Due to the significant delay of Siri's major update during the iOS 18 cycle, Apple may launch the promised deeply integrated personalized Siri during the iOS 26 cycle, although the specific timing remains uncertain. The bank expects Apple Intelligence features to expand to more regions and may introduce new LLM partners beyond OpenAI (such as Gemini)
