Goldman Sachs Urges Investors to Consider Apple Stock Before April Earnings
New York, Monday, 20 April 2026.
Setting a $330 price target, Goldman Sachs advises buying Apple stock before April 30, arguing that Wall Street’s current concerns are overly pessimistic given the company’s strong fundamentals.
Navigating the Broader Tech Landscape and Memory Chip Headwinds
The technology sector has experienced a turbulent start to 2026. According to a research note published on April 7 by Peter C. Oppenheimer, chief global equity strategist at Goldman Sachs, the global technology sector is currently enduring “one of its weakest periods of relative returns in 50 years” [6]. The massive capital expenditures by the top four U.S. hyperscalers—who spent approximately $400 billion on artificial intelligence infrastructure in 2025, representing a roughly 70% year-over-year increase—have left some investors questioning whether these investments will yield the previously expected returns [6]. Consequently, the valuation of the global technology sector has fallen below that of the broader aggregate market, creating what Oppenheimer describes as a rare “technology value opportunity” for discerning investors [6].
Goldman’s Bullish Thesis and Market Resilience
Despite these macroeconomic and supply chain headwinds, Goldman Sachs analyst Michael Ng argues that the market’s concerns regarding Apple are “overly pessimistic” [3][4]. Ng points out that Apple maintains a much stronger relative position than its competitors, a view supported by the tech giant’s proactive supply chain management [3][4]. Reports indicate that Apple is actively securing as much mobile DRAM supply as possible from the open market while maintaining competitive pricing to capture further market share [2][3][4]. This strategic maneuvering is expected to protect the company’s robust gross profit margin, which stood at an impressive 47.3% over the last twelve months [2][5].
The Expanding Role of Services Revenue
Beyond hardware sales, Apple’s Services division remains a critical engine for revenue growth and margin expansion [GPT]. Goldman Sachs expects the Services segment to deliver a 14% year-over-year revenue increase [2][3][4][5]. This growth is anticipated despite a relatively sluggish quarter for the App Store, which UBS estimated grew by approximately 7% in the March quarter with flat growth in the United States [2][5]. Goldman Sachs similarly notes that overall App Store growth has been hovering below 10% for the quarter [4].
Upcoming Catalysts and Analyst Consensus
As the April 30 earnings release approaches, the broader analyst community maintains a cautiously optimistic stance. Wall Street’s consensus rating on Apple stands at a “Moderate Buy,” based on 16 Buy ratings, 8 Holds, and 1 Sell [1][5]. The average price target among these analysts is $304.85, which implies an upside potential of 12.81% [1][5]. While Goldman Sachs and Bank of America have set aggressive price targets of $330 and $325 respectively, citing strong iPhone sales and potential earnings beats [2][5], others remain conservative; UBS, for instance, maintains a Neutral rating with a $280 target [2][5]. Apple shares recently closed at $270.23 [4].