Apple Expands Mac Portfolio With New Devices: Can They Revive Growth?

Apple AAPL is expanding its Mac portfolio with the launch of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. The devices come at an opportune time as the iPhone maker faces stiff competition from the likes of Lenovo, HP HPQ and Dell Technologies DELL. In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, Mac sales of $8.39 billion decreased 6.7% year over year and accounted for 5.8% of net sales. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 7.54%.

Introduction of M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, built using a new Apple-designed Fusion Architecture, which connects two dies into a single SoC, boosts performance. These chips combine two third-generation 3-nanometer (nm) dies with high bandwidth and low latency using advanced packaging. The two dies include a powerful new CPU, a scalable GPU, Media Engine, unified memory controller, Neural Engine and Thunderbolt 5 capabilities. 

The new MacBook Air is powered by the latest M5, which features a faster CPU and next-generation GPU with a Neural Accelerator in each core. MacBook Air offers starting storage at 512GB with faster SSD technology, and is configurable up to 4TB. Apple’s N1 wireless chip delivers Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 for seamless connectivity on the go, and the device features a 12MP Center Stage camera, up to 18 hours of battery life, and an immersive sound system with Spatial Audio.

The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, powered by M5 Pro and M5 Max, adds superior performance and AI capabilities. MacBook Pro features a new CPU with the world’s fastest CPU core, a next-generation GPU with a Neural Accelerator in each core, and higher unified memory bandwidth, altogether delivering up to four times AI performance compared with the previous generation, and up to eight times AI performance compared to M1 models. MacBook Pro now comes with up to two times faster SSD performance and starts at 1TB of storage for M5 Pro and 2TB for M5 Max. The new MacBook Pro includes N1, an Apple-designed wireless networking chip that enables Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.

Apple Faces Stiff Competition

AAPL is facing stiff competition from the likes of Lenovo, Dell Technologies and HP in the personal computer (PC) domain. Per Gartner, worldwide PC shipments totaled 71.5 million units in the fourth quarter of 2025, up 9% year over year. For 2025, worldwide PC shipments totaled more than 270 million units, up 9.1% from 2024. Lenovo led with 27.2% market share, trailed by HP and Dell Technologies with 21.5% and 16.5%, respectively. Apple had a 9.4% market share.

HP now expects PC unit volumes to fall in fiscal 2026, with only slight revenue growth coming from higher specifications, not from more buyers. The PC demand boost from the Windows 11 upgrade cycle is anticipated to fade in the second half of fiscal 2026. Dell expects the Client Solutions Group (CSG) revenues to climb 2% in the first quarter of fiscal 2027. In the commercial segment, DELL expects to benefit from a strong refresh cycle, which remains a meaningful opportunity, given the large installed base of devices that are more than 4 and 5 years old.

AAPL’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Apple shares have jumped 10% in the trailing six-month period, outperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s return of 6.5%.

Apple Stock’s Performance

The AAPL stock is trading at a premium, with a forward 12-month price/earnings of 30.03X compared with the broader sector’s 24.91X. AAPL has a Value Score of D.

AAPL Valuation

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at $8.41 per share, up 0.5% over the past 30 days, suggesting 12.7% year-over-year growth.
 

Apple Inc. Price and Consensus

Apple Inc. price-consensus-chart | Apple Inc. Quote

Apple currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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