Government action ‘single greatest risk’ to Apple share price, says analyst

“We believe government action (via antitrust, executive order, and legislation) represents the single greatest risk for shares of Apple”

What you need to know

Government action against the company is the ‘single greatest risk’ to Apple’s share price.
That’s according to D.A. Davidson & Co analyst Tom Forte.
Apple is expecting to post big yearly gains at its Q3 earnings on Tuesday.

Government action in the form of an antitrust lawsuit, executive order, or legislation marks the single biggest threat to Apple’s share price, according to one analyst on the day of Apple’s Q3 earnings announcement.

A note relayed by Reuters from D.A. Davidson & Co analyst Tom Forte reportedly states “We believe government action (via antitrust, executive order, and legislation) represents the single greatest risk for shares of Apple.”

It comes on the day Apple will announce its Q3 earnings for 2021, where the company is expected to post big yearly gains thanks to strong iPhone performance.

It comes as Apple awaits judgment in the Epic Games antitrust trial, and faces a slew of investigations both at home and abroad over services like its App Store, Apple Pay, Apple Music, and more. Apple’s deal with Google regarding default search on iOS, reportedly worth $8-$12bn a year, is also under scrutiny.

In a revamped lawsuit against Google, Epic Games recently claimed this deal means Google has no incentive to make people switch from iOS to Android.

Analysts are predicting strong growth for Apple in the upcoming Q3 announcement, from our report earlier today:

Overall, Apple analyst predictions are averaging out at $75.1 billion in revenue, which would be a hefty increase on Apple’s $59.69 from the same time last year. 10 independent analysts on the whole were more bullish than their professional counterparts, averaging out their estimates at $77.21 billion and $73.41 billion respectively.

Apple’s Q3 earnings call will take place a 2 pm PT/5 pm ET.