Apple (AAPL) shares currently trade at $263, but bullish investment experts suggest the recent Q1 2026 earnings could help the stock pop to $300. The company’s first-quarter earnings on Thursday beat Wall Street’s expectations on the top and bottom lines, on strong iPhone sales. Indeed, Apple’s iPhone revenue topped out at an all-time record of $85.3 billion in the quarter, well ahead of the $78.3 billion analysts were anticipating. The company recorded iPhone sales of $69.1 billion in the same quarter last year.

The stock experienced a slight pullback after the earnings report, as CEO Tim Cook said the global memory crunch will hit the company’s margins in the future. Fortunately, to open the week, AAPL stock is back up nearly 3%. Long-term, analysts are looking for AAPL shares to eventually break the $270 resistance and hit an ATH of $300.

That consensus forecast can be seen across Wall Street firms, driven by Apple’s AI development/investment and a surge in sales worldwide. Wedbush and Tigress Financial are optimistic, with price targets of $350 and $305, respectively, indicating growth potential. At press time, AAPL sits at $256.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) aims to implement AI features using Google’s Gemini, a move that analysts believe improves iPhone positioning without requiring significant investment. Greater China sales are projected to expand roughly 15%, and services revenue is forecast to grow 14.1%. Investors will be watching how the firm handles growing expenses due to the worldwide memory chip shortage. Should it handle that well, Apple (AAPL) stock could see a healthy climb to even further highs in 2026 than in 2025.