Shares of Apple Inc. have inched into positive territory this year following the launch of its new iPhone 17 devices. Maintaining that trajectory won’t be an easy feat.

Demand for Apple’s

AAPL new phones has been hotter than expected, leading to higher expectations for next year’s iPhone 18 and the overall device upgrade cycle — which Jefferies analyst Edison Lee thinks will be tough for the company to meet. On Friday, Lee downgraded Apple’s stock to underperform from hold, arguing that investor expectations for Apple’s future products had become too inflated.