Consumer electronics giant Apple (AAPL) might be best known for the iPhone, the product that may have had its start in the iPod, but built on it to the point that, today, it is an institution on its own. But even as Apple celebrates a massive new milestone—its three billionth iPhone sold—questions are swirling over whether or not it can keep this momentum going. Doubt is growing among investors, and Apple shares slid nearly 2.5% in Friday afternoon’s trading.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed the news during the third quarter earnings call, and made it perfectly clear that the iPhone is now one of consumer technology’s greatest products of all time. With the iPhone’s 20th anniversary still two years out, demand is strong and rising worldwide as emerging markets step into the ring, out to get their hands on an iPhone.

Reports noted that Apple went from zero to one billion after nine years, crossing that threshold in 2016. Five years later, in 2021, the two billion mark arrived. Now, only four years later, the three billion mark was crossed. As new shoppers pick up iPhones, and old iPhone users continue to replace their old iPhones with newer models, Apple has found a steady and mostly reliable source of revenue over the years.

But Can It Continue?

As anyone with an income stream has asked, at one point or another, how long can this go on? The latest move from two billion to three billion came with surprising speed, and some note that the Trump tariffs gave the newest surge a little something extra. After all, people might well have bought iPhones a little faster than normal to avoid any potential price bump from the tariffs. Thus, the question of front-loaded sales came up.

If it were the case that sales were front-loaded, with people buying new models ahead of potential price jumps from the tariffs, then that would be bad news for end-of-year sales. Going into the holiday shopping season, this might be especially bad news, at a time when Apple would normally clean house.

Is Apple a Buy, Hold or Sell?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on AAPL stock based on 14 Buys, 10 Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 5.59% loss in its share price over the past year, the average AAPL price target of $230.97 per share implies 14.35% upside potential.

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