Banking giant turns bullish on Apple after Google’s court ruling

Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL stock outlook has received a boost as Wall Street weighed the impact of regulatory developments surrounding Google and their potential implications for the broader tech sector.

The momentum followed a U.S. court ruling in the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Google, which introduced remedies seen as reshaping dynamics in the search and services market.

In response, Bank of America raised its AAPL price target to $260 from $250 while maintaining a ‘Buy’ rating. The new target implies a potential 10% upside from the stock’s current value of $237. 

Analyst Wamsi Mohan said the adjustment reflects stronger confidence in Apple’s Services growth, with the target based on a 31x multiple of 2026 earnings-per-share estimates of $8.37.

Notably, Apple shares traded higher in after-hours activity following the court’s decision, which bars Google from entering exclusive contracts for Search, Chrome, Google Assistant, and its Gemini AI app. 

Implication of Google court ruling 

However, Google will still be allowed to pay for default placements, such as preloading and search engine defaults, on a year-by-year basis.

The court instructed Google and the DOJ to submit a revised final judgment by September 10. Bank of America noted that the decision largely mirrors existing practices, where Google remains Apple’s default search engine but users retain the option to switch.

Beyond the Google ruling, Wall Street is also monitoring Apple ahead of its iPhone event. As reported by Finbold, JPMorgan raised its price target on Apple to $255 from $232, maintaining an ‘Overweight’ rating. 

Analyst Samik Chatterjee highlighted two key growth drivers: the launch of the slimmer iPhone Air, expected to sell 10–15 million units in the second half of 2025, and Apple’s pricing strategy in China, where devices priced under CNY 6,000 ($840) qualify for a 15% subsidy.

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