Tech giant Apple (AAPL) is planning to send more iPhones to the U.S. from India in order to avoid the high costs of new tariffs on Chinese goods, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. This is meant to be a short-term solution while the company tries to get an exemption from President Trump’s tariffs—similar to one CEO Tim Cook secured during Trump’s first term. Still, Apple sees the current trade environment as too unstable to make big, long-term changes to its supply chain right now.
Trump has placed at least a 54% tariff on goods from China, while Indian goods face a lower 26% tariff. China responded by adding a 34% tariff on certain U.S. products. On top of that, Trump recently threatened an additional 50% against China if it doesn’t remove its retaliatory tariffs, which caused Apple’s stock to fall in today’s trading.
Even though Apple is working to diversify where its products are made, it still relies heavily on China to manufacture iPhones. As a result, analysts at Needham say that if Apple doesn’t get a tariff exemption, its earnings for Fiscal Year 2025 could drop by 28% or more. That makes the outcome of Trump’s tariff policy especially important for how it will conduct its operations going forward.
Is Apple a Buy or Sell Right Now?
Overall, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on AAPL stock based on 17 Buys, 11 Holds, and four Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average AAPL price target of $248.28 per share implies 38.4% upside potential.
