Zacks to Release Top 10 Stock Picks for 2026 on January 5
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Dec 26 2025
0mins
Source: NASDAQ.COM
- Outstanding Historical Performance: Since 2012, Zacks' Top 10 Stocks portfolio has gained 2,530.8% through November 2025, significantly outperforming the S&P 500's 570.3%, showcasing their stock-picking prowess.
- Curated Stock Strategy: Zacks' Director of Research, Sheraz Mian, is meticulously selecting the best 10 stocks from a pool of 4,400 companies, aiming to provide investors with high-quality long-term investment opportunities.
- Upcoming Recommendations: These selected stocks will be officially released on January 5, 2026, presenting investors with a timely opportunity to position themselves for potential gains.
- Short-Term Recommendation Report: Zacks is also offering a free report on the “7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days,” further assisting investors in capitalizing on short-term market opportunities.
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Analyst Views on AAPL
Wall Street analysts forecast AAPL stock price to rise
27 Analyst Rating
17 Buy
9 Hold
1 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 294.380
Low
239.00
Averages
306.89
High
350.00
Current: 294.380
Low
239.00
Averages
306.89
High
350.00
About AAPL
Apple Inc. designs, manufactures and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and sells a variety of related services. Its product categories include iPhone, Mac, iPad, Wearables, Home and Accessories. Its services include advertising, AppleCare, cloud services, digital content, and payment services. The Company operates various platforms, including the App Store, that allow customers to discover and download applications and digital content, such as books, music, video, games and podcasts. It also offers digital content through subscription-based services, including Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, Apple Music, Apple News+, and Apple TV+. Its wearables include smartwatches, wireless headphones, and spatial computers. Its products include iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone 15, iPhone 14, iPhone SE, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, Mac Pro, iPad Pro, iPad Air, AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro and others.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Apple's Foldable iPhone Shipment Forecast
- Shipment Forecast: According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo's latest supply chain survey, Apple’s foldable iPhone is projected to ship 7 to 8 million units in the second half of 2026, with only 500,000 to 1 million units expected in Q3, indicating that production bottlenecks will limit early supply and could lead to immediate sellouts upon pre-order.
- Market Sentiment: Despite strong demand expectations for the foldable iPhone through the end of 2026, retail sentiment for AAPL dipped from neutral to bearish on Monday, reflecting cautious investor attitudes towards the new product launch, even as message volume surged by 40% over the past week.
- Pricing and Competition: Kuo estimates the foldable iPhone will retail between $2,300 and $2,500, which may attract some high-end consumers; however, compared to the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, which are expected to ship 20 to 22 million units in Q3, the foldable model faces significant competitive pressure in the market.
- Launch and Sales Strategy: Apple is likely to announce the foldable iPhone in September, but due to manufacturing challenges, actual sales may be delayed until Q4, mirroring the launch strategy of the iPhone X in 2017, meaning consumers may have to wait weeks to receive the new device, further impacting market expectations.
See More
Buffett's Apple Investment Insights
- Buffett's Investment Philosophy: Buffett invested $36 billion in Apple from 2016 to 2018, leading to a holding value of $177 billion in 2023, reflecting his reassessment of Apple as a consumer goods company with strong pricing power and market potential.
- Abel's Strategic Shift: New CEO Greg Abel has already invested $23 billion in Alphabet during his short tenure, including nearly 40 million shares added in Q1, indicating his proactive search for high-return opportunities while adhering to Buffett's investment principles.
- Alphabet's Growth Potential: Alphabet's advertising and cloud computing segments are performing robustly, with a contracted backlog of $460 billion at the end of Q1, up 100% from the previous quarter, showcasing its competitive advantages and broad growth prospects.
- Market Value Assessment: Despite Alphabet's market cap exceeding $4 trillion, Abel can deploy significant capital without disrupting the market, potentially making it Berkshire's largest investment in the coming quarters, further solidifying the company's market position.
See More
Buffett's Apple Bet: Abel's Next Big Investment
- Investment Strategy Shift: Buffett initially dismissed Apple but reconsidered during a price dip, ultimately investing $36 billion from 2016 to 2018, making Apple Berkshire's largest holding, showcasing his keen market insight and adaptability.
- Abel's Capital Deployment: New CEO Greg Abel has already invested $23 billion in Alphabet in a short tenure, including nearly 40 million shares added in Q1, demonstrating his commitment to finding the next big opportunity akin to Apple.
- Alphabet's Growth Potential: Alphabet's advertising and cloud computing segments are thriving, with a backlog of $460 billion in contracts by the end of Q1, doubling from the previous quarter, indicating strong competitive advantages and significant growth prospects.
- Market Valuation Appeal: With a forward P/E ratio below 26 and robust cash flow, coupled with a market cap exceeding $4 trillion, Abel can deploy substantial capital without disrupting the market, potentially making it Berkshire's largest investment in the coming quarters.
See More
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- Fundraising Scale: Unimicron Technology is looking to raise up to $1.4 billion through a global depositary share offering, reflecting strong financing demand in the semiconductor industry, particularly as AI-driven spending surges.
- Issuance Details: The company plans to sell 50 million global depositary shares at a price range of $26.96 to $27.76 each, representing a 3% to 6% discount to Monday's close of NT$917 (approximately $28.59), indicating robust market interest in its stock.
- Use of Proceeds: The funds raised will be used to procure raw materials in foreign currencies, aimed at enhancing production capacity to meet increasing market demand, especially in collaboration with major clients like Apple and Nvidia.
- Market Performance: Unimicron's stock has surged 317% year-to-date, reflecting investor confidence in its future growth potential, while this fundraising will further solidify its position in the global semiconductor supply chain.
See More
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- Funding Achievement: Even Realities Technology raised $150 million in its latest funding round, achieving a valuation of $1 billion and becoming a unicorn, reflecting strong market confidence in its smart glasses platform.
- Market Positioning: Founder Will Wang, who previously worked at Apple and contributed to the development of the Apple Watch and iPhone, is now focusing on competing in the AI wearable market dominated by Meta Platforms, showcasing the strategic value of his technical background.
- Product Innovation: The company plans to use the new funding to accelerate the development of its next-generation smart glasses platform, emphasizing user privacy with its G2 glasses that lack cameras while providing information display, navigation, and live translation features to meet user privacy demands.
- Market Outlook: The global smart glasses market surged 167% year-over-year in Q1, with shipments expected to exceed 50 million units by 2030, positioning Even Realities to benefit from this trend, especially with over half of its user base located in the U.S.
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- Significant Revenue Growth: Foxconn reported a 39.8% year-over-year revenue increase for the April-June period, reaching NT$2.513 trillion ($78.71 billion), surpassing analysts' expectations of NT$2.372 trillion, indicating strong performance in the global market.
- Strong June Sales: June revenue alone surged 52% to NT$821.8 billion, driven primarily by robust demand for cloud and networking products, particularly those related to artificial intelligence, further solidifying Foxconn's leadership in the electronics manufacturing sector.
- Cautious Market Sentiment: Despite Foxconn's strong performance, retail sentiment towards Apple and Nvidia remains bearish, reflecting investor concerns over global political and economic uncertainties that could impact future market performance.
- Optimistic Outlook: Foxconn anticipates continued growth in AI rack shipments for the third quarter as ICT products enter peak season, although the company emphasizes the need to closely monitor the volatile global political and economic landscape, showcasing its strategic flexibility in addressing external risks.
See More
Apple's Foldable iPhone Shipment Forecast
- Shipment Forecast: According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo's latest supply chain survey, Apple’s foldable iPhone is projected to ship 7 to 8 million units in the second half of 2026, with only 500,000 to 1 million units expected in Q3, indicating that production bottlenecks will limit early supply and could lead to immediate sellouts upon pre-order.
- Market Sentiment: Despite strong demand expectations for the foldable iPhone through the end of 2026, retail sentiment for AAPL dipped from neutral to bearish on Monday, reflecting cautious investor attitudes towards the new product launch, even as message volume surged by 40% over the past week.
- Pricing and Competition: Kuo estimates the foldable iPhone will retail between $2,300 and $2,500, which may attract some high-end consumers; however, compared to the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, which are expected to ship 20 to 22 million units in Q3, the foldable model faces significant competitive pressure in the market.
- Launch and Sales Strategy: Apple is likely to announce the foldable iPhone in September, but due to manufacturing challenges, actual sales may be delayed until Q4, mirroring the launch strategy of the iPhone X in 2017, meaning consumers may have to wait weeks to receive the new device, further impacting market expectations.
See More
Buffett's Apple Investment Insights
- Buffett's Investment Philosophy: Buffett invested $36 billion in Apple from 2016 to 2018, leading to a holding value of $177 billion in 2023, reflecting his reassessment of Apple as a consumer goods company with strong pricing power and market potential.
- Abel's Strategic Shift: New CEO Greg Abel has already invested $23 billion in Alphabet during his short tenure, including nearly 40 million shares added in Q1, indicating his proactive search for high-return opportunities while adhering to Buffett's investment principles.
- Alphabet's Growth Potential: Alphabet's advertising and cloud computing segments are performing robustly, with a contracted backlog of $460 billion at the end of Q1, up 100% from the previous quarter, showcasing its competitive advantages and broad growth prospects.
- Market Value Assessment: Despite Alphabet's market cap exceeding $4 trillion, Abel can deploy significant capital without disrupting the market, potentially making it Berkshire's largest investment in the coming quarters, further solidifying the company's market position.
See More
Buffett's Apple Bet: Abel's Next Big Investment
- Investment Strategy Shift: Buffett initially dismissed Apple but reconsidered during a price dip, ultimately investing $36 billion from 2016 to 2018, making Apple Berkshire's largest holding, showcasing his keen market insight and adaptability.
- Abel's Capital Deployment: New CEO Greg Abel has already invested $23 billion in Alphabet in a short tenure, including nearly 40 million shares added in Q1, demonstrating his commitment to finding the next big opportunity akin to Apple.
- Alphabet's Growth Potential: Alphabet's advertising and cloud computing segments are thriving, with a backlog of $460 billion in contracts by the end of Q1, doubling from the previous quarter, indicating strong competitive advantages and significant growth prospects.
- Market Valuation Appeal: With a forward P/E ratio below 26 and robust cash flow, coupled with a market cap exceeding $4 trillion, Abel can deploy substantial capital without disrupting the market, potentially making it Berkshire's largest investment in the coming quarters.
See More
Unimicron Technology Aims to Raise $1.4B via Global Depositary Shares
- Fundraising Scale: Unimicron Technology is looking to raise up to $1.4 billion through a global depositary share offering, reflecting strong financing demand in the semiconductor industry, particularly as AI-driven spending surges.
- Issuance Details: The company plans to sell 50 million global depositary shares at a price range of $26.96 to $27.76 each, representing a 3% to 6% discount to Monday's close of NT$917 (approximately $28.59), indicating robust market interest in its stock.
- Use of Proceeds: The funds raised will be used to procure raw materials in foreign currencies, aimed at enhancing production capacity to meet increasing market demand, especially in collaboration with major clients like Apple and Nvidia.
- Market Performance: Unimicron's stock has surged 317% year-to-date, reflecting investor confidence in its future growth potential, while this fundraising will further solidify its position in the global semiconductor supply chain.
See More
Chinese Smart Glasses Startup Becomes Unicorn After Funding Round
- Funding Achievement: Even Realities Technology raised $150 million in its latest funding round, achieving a valuation of $1 billion and becoming a unicorn, reflecting strong market confidence in its smart glasses platform.
- Market Positioning: Founder Will Wang, who previously worked at Apple and contributed to the development of the Apple Watch and iPhone, is now focusing on competing in the AI wearable market dominated by Meta Platforms, showcasing the strategic value of his technical background.
- Product Innovation: The company plans to use the new funding to accelerate the development of its next-generation smart glasses platform, emphasizing user privacy with its G2 glasses that lack cameras while providing information display, navigation, and live translation features to meet user privacy demands.
- Market Outlook: The global smart glasses market surged 167% year-over-year in Q1, with shipments expected to exceed 50 million units by 2030, positioning Even Realities to benefit from this trend, especially with over half of its user base located in the U.S.
See More
Foxconn's Q2 Revenue Soars 39.8% Amid AI Demand
- Significant Revenue Growth: Foxconn reported a 39.8% year-over-year revenue increase for the April-June period, reaching NT$2.513 trillion ($78.71 billion), surpassing analysts' expectations of NT$2.372 trillion, indicating strong performance in the global market.
- Strong June Sales: June revenue alone surged 52% to NT$821.8 billion, driven primarily by robust demand for cloud and networking products, particularly those related to artificial intelligence, further solidifying Foxconn's leadership in the electronics manufacturing sector.
- Cautious Market Sentiment: Despite Foxconn's strong performance, retail sentiment towards Apple and Nvidia remains bearish, reflecting investor concerns over global political and economic uncertainties that could impact future market performance.
- Optimistic Outlook: Foxconn anticipates continued growth in AI rack shipments for the third quarter as ICT products enter peak season, although the company emphasizes the need to closely monitor the volatile global political and economic landscape, showcasing its strategic flexibility in addressing external risks.
See More
