Apple Inc. shares have experienced a rare and persistent period of weakness, declining for eight consecutive trading sessions through Friday, January 9, 2026. This marks the company's longest losing streak since May 2025 and potentially its longest since 1991 if the slide continues. The stock closed at $257.07 on Friday, representing a cumulative decline of approximately 6.1% over the streak.
Despite the downturn, analysts at Evercore ISI maintain a bullish outlook. The firm reiterated its Outperform rating on Apple and raised its price target to $330 from $325. This optimism is driven by expectations for the company's upcoming quarterly earnings report, scheduled for January 29. Analysts, led by Amit Daryanani, cite "robust iPhone demand" and "minimal memory cost headwind" as key factors that could drive near-term upside to estimates for the quarter ended in December 2024.
Apple had previously guided for revenue growth of 10% to 12% for the December quarter, which would be its first double-digit growth quarter since fiscal 2022. Evercore believes performance may have exceeded these expectations, pointing to strong demand in North America, China, and India, with only modest weakness in Europe. The firm also noted demand has skewed toward higher-end iPhone models, which typically supports better margins.
The sell-off has coincided with a shift in market leadership. Alphabet (Google's parent company) overtook Apple this week to become the world's second-most-valuable publicly traded company, with a market capitalization nearing $3.98 trillion compared to Apple's approximately $3.84 trillion.
Additional factors drawing investor scrutiny include potential headwinds from rising memory chip costs, though Evercore believes Apple's long-term supplier contracts offer protection. Furthermore, a report from The New York Times highlighted internal discussions about leadership succession, with hardware engineering chief John Ternus emerging as a leading candidate to eventually succeed CEO Tim Cook.
