11:34 AM EDT, 06/06/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Apple's ( AAPL ) outlook is bullish before its worldwide developer conference, seen as pivotal to the tech giant's monetization phase of its artificial intelligence backbone, Wedbush said Friday in a report.

While many Wall Street analysts expect an "underwhelming" conference starting Monday, "we disagree with this bearish narrative and strongly believe this will be the start of AI monetization" with a foundation through new operating system updates across products, Wedbush said.

"We estimate roughly 25% of the world's population will eventually access AI through an Apple ( AAPL ) device over the next few years," Wedbush said. "We remain firmly bullish on Apple ( AAPL )."

The company will present new features via Apple Intelligence, such as an enhanced operating system, and offer updates on Siri's integration with Gemini and ChatGPT, the report said.

Apple ( AAPL ) may announce Alibaba ( BABA ) as its AI partner in China before autumn, which is expected to be a growth catalyst, Wedbush said.

Wedbush reiterated its outperform rating on Apple's ( AAPL ) stock with a price target of $270.

Apple ( AAPL ) shares rose 1.3% in recent trading Friday.

Price: 203.19, Change: +2.56, Percent Change: +1.28