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Investment firm Evercore ISI issued its outlook for 2023, noting that the weakening global economy is likely to hit IT spending and the Federal Reserve is expected to keep raising interest rates as it tries to get inflation under control.
Even still, the firm expects IT spending to outgrow global GDP growth and remain positive and several companies, including Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), may have banner years.
Analyst Amit Daryanani, who has an outperform rating and $190 price target on Apple (AAPL), noted that the company may ramp up a number of “moonshot projects” that become material to the company’s future growth, including its long-rumored mixed reality headset. Daryanani also posited that the company’s advertising business is likely to become more material and Apple Pay will continue to gain further scale.
Daryanani added that Apple (AAPL) could see between 200 and 300 basis points of incremental sales growth and roughly 200 basis points of EBIT margin expansion if iPhone sales that were delayed because of China’s COVID-19 lockdowns are pushed out to the next calendar year.
Apple is part of Daryanani’s “set it and forget it” portfolio, which also includes Amphenol (APH) and CDW (CDW).
Delving deeper, Daryanani noted that Apple’s (AAPL) China-related supply chain headwinds are likely “transitory” in nature and earnings could eventually reach $7 per share or more, as the company’s installed base continues to see increased monetization, thanks to growth in its Services and Wearables units.
Additionally, the continued expansion of gross margins, additional share buybacks, new products and contributions from the iPhone could also boost earnings per share, Daryanani posited.
Earlier this week, investment firm Morgan Stanley said a potential move by (AAPL) to allow third-party app stores on iPhones and iPads would likely wind up being “more bark than bite” and have a limited impact on the tech giant.
