Apple’s AI Weakness Could Become Its Strength, Bank of America Says

Apple is widely seen as a laggard in the AI space due to its long-delayed Siri upgrade and lack of major proprietary models.

Analysts have been discussing Apple's potential AI “agentic moat.” (Photo: Apple)

However, the rise of AI agents could turn what appears to be a weakness into a strategic advantage, Daniel Howley reported for Yahoo Finance.

In an investor note published Tuesday, Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan argued that Apple’s control over its ecosystem — ranging from silicon to operating systems — provides it with an “agentic AI moat” that could prove crucial in its AI strategy.

“In an agentic world, value accrues to the platform that controls user intent, personal context, app access, permissions, identity, authentication, payments, and trust,” Mohan wrote.

He added that if AI assistants become the primary interface for search, apps, commerce, scheduling, payments, and workflows, Apple could have significant leverage over model providers, developers, advertisers, and payment networks.

Mohan, who maintained a Buy rating on Apple, raised his price target to $380 from $330, implying roughly 20% upside from current levels.