06:30 AM EDT, 10/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Apple ( AAPL ) could top Wall Street's estimates for its fiscal fourth-quarter sales amid robust demand for its iPhone 17 in the US and China, with the technology giant close to reaching the $4 trillion market capitalization milestone, according to Wedbush Securities.

The brokerage believes the Street's top-line consensus of about $102 billion for Apple ( AAPL ) is "very beatable," given the better-than-expected iPhone 17 product cycle, as more consumers look to purchase the new device, it said in a late Monday client note. Double-digit growth in Apple's ( AAPL ) services business is also projected to offer an incremental uplift to Street estimates, according to Wedbush.

The iPhone maker is scheduled to release its latest quarterly results next week. Shares of the company edged down 0.2% in Tuesday's most recent premarket activity, and have gained 7.5% so far this year.

Wedbush expects Apple ( AAPL ) to surpass iPhone numbers and services estimates in the fourth quarter, with its iPhone 17 trending "well ahead" of its predecessor in the US and China so far. The base iPhone Pro Max is also seeing robust demand, especially in the US, while the iPhone Air sold out "within minutes" of its launch across multiple cities in China, the brokerage said.

"We believe that the Street is still underestimating the iPhone 17 cycle that we are seeing front and center with our estimates of 315 million of 1.5 billion iPhones globally not upgrading their iPhones in the last four years," Wedbush analysts, including Daniel Ives, wrote in the note.

The brokerage believes Apple ( AAPL ) has "finally found success" with iPhone 17 and investors will now turn their attention towards its artificial intelligence strategy, with the firm "on the doorstep" of joining Nvidia (NVDA) as a $4 trillion market cap company.

"With the biggest consumer installed base in the world of 2.4 billion iOS devices and 1.5 billion iPhones, the time is now for Apple ( AAPL ) to accelerate its AI efforts through outside partnerships," according to Ives. "We believe the AI monetization piece could add $75 to $100 per share to the Apple ( AAPL ) story over the coming few years."

Wedbush maintained its outperform rating on Apple's ( AAPL ) stock and its 12-month price target of $310.