Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced expansion plans in Saudi Arabia, marking a significant step in its Middle East growth strategy. The tech giant will launch its first Arabic-language online store in the summer of 2025, followed by multiple flagship retail locations starting in 2026, according to a company announcement Sunday.
What Happened: CEO Tim Cook highlighted plans for an iconic store in Diriyah, a UNESCO World Heritage site. “We’re excited to be expanding here in Saudi Arabia,” Cook said, emphasizing the company’s commitment to deepening customer connections in the region.
The expansion builds on Apple’s existing Saudi presence, including its women-only Developer Academy in Riyadh, launched in 2021 in partnership with the Saudi government and Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University. Nearly 2,000 students have completed the academy’s programming courses.
Why It Matters: The Saudi iOS app economy has shown remarkable growth, with developer earnings surging over 1,750% since 2019. Apple’s investment in the kingdom exceeds 10 billion Saudi Riyals ($2.66 billion) over the past five years.
Recent developments include Riyadh becoming the first Middle Eastern city to implement Apple Pay’s Express Mode for metro transit, joining over 250 global cities with Apple Pay transit integration.
Price Action: Apple stock closed at $242.84, down 0.08% on Friday. Year-to-date, the stock has surged by 30.81%.
According to data from Benzinga Pro, Apple’s consensus price target is $242.26 from 31 analysts, ranging from a high of $300 to a low of $180. Recent ratings from Wedbush, Morgan Stanley, and Maxim Group average $262.67, indicating an 8.40% potential upside.
Read Next:
Image Via Shutterstock
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.
