Oppenheimer Holdings Inc

Oppenheimer analyst Colin Rusch said Tesla is unlikely to generate meaningful sales revenue from its Optimus humanoid robot before 2029, pushing his Optimus ramp assumptions out by two quarters. Following a visit to Tesla's Austin operations, Rusch said the company pointed to finalizing the hardware design for Optimus's initial ramp and is targeting first commercial revenue in late 2027, but he wrote that Street expectations for humanoid revenue scale-up are overly optimistic, citing hardware and operating software complexity and supply chain preparedness. Rusch, who rates Tesla at Perform, was more upbeat on other parts of the business, saying the Cybercab is ramping and driving manufacturing costs materially lower, with a modular design enabling parallel production and up to 40% mass reduction, and describing Tesla's 50% to 60% robotaxi cost advantage as becoming a reality. He also flagged Tesla's push into semiconductor manufacturing as bold but critically important, with a pilot facility tracking toward a $25 billion-plus capital spending target. Oppenheimer kept its 2026 revenue estimate at $105 billion but trimmed 2027 to $108.8 billion, reflecting the slower Optimus ramp offset by faster Cybercab production.

Apple unveiled its first foldable iPhone, the Duo, priced at $1,999, at its "Surprise and Shine" event, where new chief executive John Ternus also introduced the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. Citi kept a Buy rating and $365 price target on Apple, calling the Duo the "biggest new hardware category" since the Apple Watch and AirPods, and said the new Siri AI was the most important software announcement as Apple moves toward an AI agent built into iOS 27. Goldman Sachs, which also has a Buy rating, said the decision to split the iPhone 18 launch should support average selling price growth, aided by $100 price increases on the Pro models and a new 2-terabyte storage tier. Oppenheimer reiterated a Perform rating, expecting the Duo to become "the most successful foldable phone on the market" but cautioning that supply is likely limited to 8 million to 10 million units this year. Needham's Laura Martin kept a Hold rating, praising Ternus's take-charge style but warning that the lack of low-end iPhones until spring threatens near-term unit sales and that Apple's AI integration felt "too little, too late."