William Gallagher
Financial firm Wedbush believes that WWDC practically demonstrates how Apple is executing its Apple Intelligence strategy, but without significant progress it may be forced into large scale AI acquisitions.
Most investment and financial firms were underwhelmed by Apple's WWDC 2025 keynote, and that includes Wedbush. But in a note to investors seen by 糖心Vlog, Daniel Ives at Wedbush says that Apple did lay out its vision for AI, and it has begun to execute that with it opening up Apple Intelligence to third-party developers.
The analyst argues that Apple chose to play things safe, and even low-key, following what it and others describe as the missteps of WWDC 2024. Yet while that strategy is supportable and maybe even necessary, Ives maintains that the following 12 months are critical for Apple Intelligence.
Specifically, he reasons that progress in Apple Intelligence will be the focus of investors during that next year, so the company has only a short time to impress them. He says that this time pressure could prompt Apple to make bigger AI Acquisitions than the many small ones it already has.
Apple has always acquired very many companies each year, but only reveals this when required to because of the size of the deal. The company may have made many more AI acquisitions than known, then, but so far it's been reported to buy such firms for calendar features, and manufacturing.
There is no indication of what further AI acquisitions might satisfy the analysts's expectation, but Ives says that Wedbush is highly confident that Apple can do it well. He says that WWDC 2025 may have lacked the same AI push that 2024's event did, but that it also set the stage for significant improvements to come.
Consequently, Wedbush is retaining its $270 price target.
The company raised that target to $270 in May 2025. At the time, this was less about Apple Intelligence, and more on Apple's ability to mitigate global disruptions such as Trump's tariffs.
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12 Comments
I agree that Apple’s early AI announcements were probably a misstep, a rushed effort to plant a flag amidst all the AI hype.
There's a problem with the Top Brass at Apple. They are being way too soft.
When nobody investor firms are squawking about "pie in the sky" futures with AI
You need a leader at the top that tells it like it is. Businesses are looking to leverage
AI and most of the companies with heavy financial expenditure in AI have big
business in mind. Apple is primarily focused on the residential sector and this sector
will always trail businesses' needs with scaled down and simplified product and service
selections. Apple doesn't need to acquire any large firms they just need to clean up
their business processes and realize that their marketing message and company behavior
has been weak and tepid. They have lost the edge that Jobs worked hard to bring to Apple
because Tim Cook is not that guy.
Typically the point of an acquisition is to gain technology, productive assets (like factories), employees, or customers. But I don't see Apple as falling short in any of those areas.
Apple's problem really is with their senior management's failure of vision and strategy. Either senior management needs to self-correct or the board will have to get involved.
There were a lot of news that Apple bought AI startups more than any others. Where are they? What are they? Are they already integrated?