Apple Partners with JPMorgan to Issue Apple Card, Expected to Transfer Over $20 Billion in Balances
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Jan 08 2026
0mins
Should l Buy AAPL?
Source: NASDAQ.COM
- Issuer Transition: Apple Inc. has partnered with JPMorgan Chase to replace Goldman Sachs as the issuer of the Apple Card, with the transition expected to take approximately 24 months, ensuring users can continue to use their cards normally during this period while maintaining their experience.
- User Experience Assurance: Users will retain benefits such as up to 3% unlimited Daily Cash back, easy-to-use spending tools, and Apple Card Family sharing, ensuring no disruption in service during the transition.
- Credit Loss Provision: JPMorgan Chase anticipates recognizing a $2.2 billion provision for credit losses in Q4 2025 related to the forward purchase commitment, reflecting the new issuer's assessment of potential risks.
- Balance Transfer Scale: The agreement is expected to transfer over $20 billion in card balances to the Chase platform, marking a significant expansion of Apple's footprint in financial services and potentially enhancing its competitive position in the payments market.
Trade with 70% Backtested Accuracy
Stop guessing "Should I Buy AAPL?" and start using high-conviction signals backed by rigorous historical data.
Sign up today to access powerful investing tools and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
Analyst Views on AAPL
Wall Street analysts forecast AAPL stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for AAPL is 299.69 USD with a low forecast of 230.00 USD and a high forecast of 350.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
32 Analyst Rating
19 Buy
11 Hold
2 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 274.620
Low
230.00
Averages
299.69
High
350.00
Current: 274.620
Low
230.00
Averages
299.69
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, and Wearables, Home and Accessories. Its software platforms include iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS. 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 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.
- Remarkable Historical Returns: Over the past 20 years, Apple's stock has surged by 10,650%, with a total return of 12,730% including reinvested dividends, highlighting its strong performance and investment appeal in the consumer tech sector.
- Innovation-Driven Products: The iPhone accounted for 59% of Apple's revenue in Q1 FY2026, while other products like the MacBook, iPad, and AirPods also performed well, further solidifying Apple's leadership position in the global market.
- Earnings Growth Expectations: Apple's latest financial results show a 16% increase in revenue and an 18% rise in diluted earnings per share (EPS), with analysts projecting an annual EPS growth of 11.5% from FY2025 to FY2028, providing confidence to investors.
- Stable Market Valuation: With a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.9, Apple's stock is expected to continue rising if this valuation remains stable, although concerns about its position in the age of artificial intelligence could affect investor sentiment; nonetheless, the overall outlook remains optimistic.
See More
- Heico Investment Returns: Buffett added Heico (HEI) to the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio in mid-2024, and its stock price has risen approximately 50% since then, with a 28.2% annualized return over the past decade, outperforming Apple and Amazon, showcasing its strong competitive position in the aerospace parts market.
- Market Share Advantage: Heico holds about a 50% share of the Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) market, with prices 30% to 40% lower than original equipment manufacturers, allowing it to maintain its market position through reverse engineering, which is expected to sustain its competitive edge.
- Alphabet's Future Potential: Alphabet (GOOGL) was added to the Berkshire portfolio in 2025, and with its advantages in cloud computing and AI chip development, it is expected to continue generating wealth for investors, particularly with its Willow chip for quantum computing, regarded as one of the most advanced with the lowest error rate.
- Long-Term Investment Value: The Berkshire Hathaway portfolio is rigorously vetted by Buffett, and with Heico and Alphabet as emerging holdings, they demonstrate strong growth potential for the next decade, making them attractive for long-term investors.
See More
- Axon Overview: Axon Enterprise (AXON) focuses on hardware and software products for law enforcement, having performed well over the past decade; however, its stock has dropped about 50% from six months ago, reflecting market volatility's impact.
- Revenue Growth Forecast: Axon's revenue is expected to grow 31% to $2.74 billion in 2025, and despite a current price-to-sales ratio of 14, it is viewed as a solid investment due to its strong competitive advantages and long-term growth potential.
- Stable Customer Base: Axon's clientele primarily consists of state and local law enforcement agencies, which are less inclined to pursue custom AI software, providing resilience during market fluctuations and ensuring continued use of its software suite.
- Atlassian's Challenges: In contrast to Axon, Atlassian (TEAM) achieved a 23% revenue growth in the latest quarter but has seen its stock plummet 72% over the past year due to competitive pressures from AI tools, and it has struggled to achieve GAAP profitability for a decade, warranting caution from investors.
See More
- Significant Revenue Growth: Micron Technology's stock has surged over 300% in the past year, with analysts projecting revenue to double to $75.4 billion by fiscal 2026 and adjusted earnings per share to quadruple to $33.38, indicating robust market demand and profitability.
- Memory Supercycle: The memory chip sector is experiencing a supercycle, boosting performance for Micron and other memory stocks like SK Hynix and Samsung, with net income expected to reach approximately $35 billion this fiscal year, reflecting strong and sustained industry demand.
- Surge in Capital Expenditures: Major tech companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet are planning to invest over $600 billion in AI infrastructure, further driving memory demand, with analysts forecasting continued price increases for memory, highlighting favorable supply-demand dynamics.
- Optimistic Future Outlook: Although historical memory cycles have shown volatility, the current demand and capital expenditure levels may allow Micron's profits to continue rising over the next few years, with investors needing to be aware of cyclical risks, yet short-term stock price could approach $800.
See More
- Employee Protest: Over 1,400 Salesforce employees have signed a letter urging CEO Marc Benioff to cease potential collaboration with ICE, reflecting significant employee dissatisfaction that could impact the company's reputation and morale.
- Controversial Tech Use: The letter highlights Salesforce's pitches of AI technology to ICE for rapidly hiring 10,000 new agents, raising concerns that this could expand ICE's operational capacity and provoke greater social controversy and ethical responsibility.
- Negative Market Reaction: Salesforce's stock has declined approximately 27% in 2026, with investor worries about AI models potentially harming growth prospects for software companies intensifying, and employee protests may further exacerbate market unease regarding the company.
- Lack of Transparency Issues: Employees are demanding clarity on the scope and governance of Salesforce's services to ICE, arguing that the opacity prevents informed decision-making and poses personal and professional risks, which could undermine internal trust and company culture.
See More
- Employee Protest: Over 1,400 Salesforce employees have signed a letter urging CEO Marc Benioff to cease potential business with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), reflecting strong opposition among staff that could impact company reputation and employee morale.
- Controversial Tech Application: The letter highlights Salesforce's pitches of AI technology to ICE for expediting the hiring of 10,000 new agents, raising concerns among employees about the potential enabling of ICE's expansion, which could lead to diminished trust from clients and the public towards Salesforce.
- Market Pressure: Salesforce's stock has declined approximately 27% in 2026, with investor concerns about AI models affecting growth prospects for software companies intensifying; employee protests may further impact stock price and market performance.
- Industry Trend Impact: This protest aligns with similar actions from employees at other tech firms, such as 900 Google employees calling for divestment from ICE, indicating widespread discontent within the tech industry regarding government enforcement actions, potentially prompting more companies to reassess their relationships with government agencies.
See More











