The iPhone 16e will target the middle to lower-end consumer groups. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. maintains a "buy" rating on Apple Inc. (AAPL.US).

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. released a research report, maintaining a "buy" rating for Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) with a target price of $294. Recently, Apple Inc. released the iPhone 16e and announced a $500 billion investment in the United States, which has attracted market attention. iPhone 16e focuses on cost-effectiveness As an entry-level model in Apple Inc.'s product line, the iPhone 16e has sparked discussion with a starting price of $599. Compared to the previous model iPhone SE3 ($479), its price has increased by 25%, but the upgrade in hardware configuration may be the core factor supporting the premium. From the pre-order situation, since pre-orders opened on February 21, 2025, major markets such as the United States, China, and Japan have all shown "zero delivery delays," with consumers able to pick up their orders on the day of release on February 28. This performance is significantly better than the iPhone 16 series released in September 2024, where the average delivery delay in the U.S. market was 14 days. Analysts believe that Apple Inc. has successfully avoided production bottlenecks by optimizing supply chain management and accurately predicting demand, which may provide redundancy space for the production capacity allocation of its high-end models. The promotional policies of U.S. carriers further strengthen the market penetration of the iPhone 16e. AT&T has introduced a promotion with "no old phone trade-in threshold": new users or users upgrading their plans can get up to $383 (128GB version) in bill credits over 36 months, reducing the actual purchase cost to $216. Verizon offers a $600 installment discount for Ultimate plan users, bringing the after-discount price to as low as $0-$479 for all versions. T-Mobile offers a super low price of $479 for the 512GB version for Go5G Plus plan users who switch carriers. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. believes that these promotion strategies directly target the middle and lower-end consumer groups, especially attracting price-sensitive users. Recently, Apple Inc. announced an investment of $500 billion in the United States over the next four years, covering manufacturing facilities, data center expansion, and research and development initiatives. Currently, Apple Inc. directly or indirectly supports over 2.9 million jobs in the United States. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. believes that this investment plan may help Apple Inc. gain more policy support. Ecological stickiness and service growth support Apple Inc.'s valuation Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has set a target price of $294 for Apple Inc., corresponding to a 33x expected P/E ratio for 2025. This assessment is based on two core logics: first, the continuous growth of the service business (which accounts for 35% of gross profit) can effectively hedge fluctuations in hardware sales, and its high-profit margin characteristics provide support for the valuation; second, the ecosystem stickiness formed by the existing 1.8 billion active devices provides a certain user base for the penetration of additional services.