Wedbush says Apple can pass through higher memory costs as Apple product pricing rises

Apple’s pricing strategy is drawing fresh attention as analysts point to soaring memory costs as a driver of higher prices across the company’s product stack. In a market note shared via Yahoo Finance, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said Apple increased prices of its products due to higher memory costs and that the iPhone and other hardware seller can “get away with it,” reflecting confidence in demand and Apple’s leverage in the supply chain.

The note did not present a detailed breakdown of which specific Apple products changed price, how much pricing moved, or how memory cost trends translated into bill-of-materials impacts. Instead, it focused on the broader relationship between memory expenses and consumer pricing, with memory used as the central explanation for the changes customers are seeing.

Wedbush maintained its “Outperform” rating on Apple, according to the Yahoo Finance post. The same note also reiterated a $400 price target, which the post described as implying upside of roughly 45% relative to the prior session’s closing price.

The analyst framing is consistent with the role that DRAM and NAND flash memory play in modern devices, from smartphones to tablets and computers, where faster memory and higher capacity storage can be material line items. When memory suppliers raise prices, device makers often face a choice: absorb some of the cost, pass some through to customers, or adjust configurations and promotions. In the note described by Yahoo Finance, the emphasis was on Apple’s apparent ability to pass through higher costs through pricing rather than only offsetting them internally.

Apple does not typically quantify individual component cost pressures in a way that directly ties a memory index to a specific price move, and the market note referenced here similarly did not provide a granular cost model or disclosed memory contract terms. As a result, readers should view the claim as an attribution of the likely driver rather than a documented, product-by-product accounting of how memory price changes flowed through to retail prices.

Still, the bigger market question is whether Apple can sustain pricing without seeing meaningful demand erosion. Apple generally sells premium hardware with strong brand pull, but the durability of that pull can be tested when consumers face broader inflation or when upgrade cycles lengthen. Wedbush’s stance, as described in the note, suggests the firm believes Apple’s pricing power remains intact even as hardware input costs rise.