Apple

In today’s fast-paced and competitive business landscape, it is essential for investors and industry enthusiasts to thoroughly analyze companies before making investment decisions. In this article, we will conduct a comprehensive industry comparison, evaluating Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) against its key competitors in the Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals industry. By examining key financial metrics, market position, and growth prospects, we aim to provide valuable insights for investors and shed light on company’s performance within the industry. Apple Background Apple is among the largest companies in the world, with a broad portfolio of hardware and software products targeted at consumers and businesses. Apple’s iPhone makes up a majority of the firm sales, and Apple’s other products like Mac, iPad, and Watch are designed around the iPhone as the focal point of an expansive software ecosystem. Apple has progressively worked to add new applications, like streaming video, subscription bundles, and augmented reality. The firm designs […]

Apple stock might just fall into its own bear market. Investors should pay attention to some key levels — to see if the recent selloff will get worse. Shares of the iPhone maker are down 0.2% in early trading at $222.13, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were up about 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively. The early drop left Apple stock down about 15% from its 52-week intraday high of $260.10 reached on Dec. 26. Declines left Apple with a market value of about $3.3 trillion, trailing Nvidia’s $3.6 trillion. Microsoft, the other company with a $3 trillion-plus value, checks in at just under $3.3 trillion. “Breathing down [Apple’s] neck,” as ChartSmarter founder and market technician Douglas Busch put it in a Wednesday report. Apple stock is looking “rotten” he added, pointing out that, through early trading, shares had given up all of their post-presidental election bounce. The

Shares of Apple, the most valuable company in the world, were slipping early Tuesday after analysts at Jefferies downgraded the stock. Forecasts for soft iPhone sales and a weaker update of new artificial intelligence features prompted strategists led by Edison Lee to lower their rating to Underperform from Hold. They also reduced their price target by 13% to $200.75. “Our concern about weak demand for iPhone has materialized,” they said in a note late Monday, citing a report saying shipments were down 4% in the quarter ended in December. “AI would be unlikely to kickstart a super upgrade cycle anytime soon.” Apple shares slipped 2.1% in premarket trading to $225.26, while futures for the Nasdaq 100 were up 0.4%. Apple stock has retreated 9.9% over the past month. It’s still the most valuable company, with a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, as of Friday’s close. By comparison, chip maker Nvidia’s

By Philip van Doorn This group was first identified by Jefferies in September 2020 and included Nvidia long before the company’s growth explosion began Investors, analysts and the financial media enjoy coming up with new nicknames or acronyms for groups of dominant stocks. But the “Sweet 16” – identified by analysts at Jefferies in September 2020 and unchanged since then – is worth a closer look in light of the group’s contribution to the U.S. stock market’s overall performance over the past five years and how much most members of the group are expected to increase revenue during 2025. One of the most recent names for a group of dominant stocks is “BATMMAAN.” This group is made up of Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) and the “Magnificent Seven”: Apple Inc. (AAPL), Tesla Inc. (TSLA), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Meta Platforms Inc. (META), Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) and Nvidia Corp. (NVDA). Read:

Apple’s (AAPL) Vice President of Global Affairs Nick Amman has left Indonesia without securing a resolution to the country’s iPhone 16 sales ban, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. Despite Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s earlier approval of Apple’s $1 billion investment proposal, Minister for Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita reportedly maintained the ban during discussions this week. Kartasasmita reportedly insisted that Apple comply with local manufacturing requirements for smartphones and tablets. Apple’s investment plan included establishing AirTag production facilities on Batam Island and funding technology academies to advance local coding and technical skills. According to the report, while Amman returned to the US, Apple’s negotiation team remained in Jakarta, continuing efforts to address the stalemate.

Apple (AAPL) executives held talks with Indonesia’s industry minister to discuss a potential investment required to lift the country’s ban on iPhone 16 sales, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing the minster, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita. The minister met Apple’s vice president of global government affairs, Nick Ammann, and investment negotiations are underway, the report said. Another Indonesian cabinet minister previously said Apple proposed a $1 billion investment to lift the sales ban, but Kartasasmita deemed it “not sufficient,” while Ammann called the talks “great discussion” but gave no details, the report said. Indonesia banned iPhone 16 sales last year for lacking 40% locally made components, Reuters said, and Apple currently has no manufacturing facilities in Indonesia.

Apple stock has a “decidedly unattractive” outlook, MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett said, lowering his rating on the shares and cutting his target for the price. Moffett downgraded Apple to Sell from Hold and trimmed his price target to $188 from $202. Shares fell 0.8% to $243.13 on Tuesday. When MoffettNathanson initiated coverage of the stock in August, the equity research firm concluded that Apple’s “ultimate success in AI” was already reflected in the price, Moffett wrote in Tuesday’s note. The stock’s valuation at the time was already high, he said, failing to factor in risks such as Apple’s dimming prospects in China and reflecting not just a surge in people upgrading their iPhones but a “permanent uplift” in the rate of phone replacement. Now, Moffett appears even less optimistic, pointing to a “lukewarm” consumer response to Apple’s suite of artificial intelligence features. Apple officially launched Apple Intelligence in October, coinciding

Apple is set to be fined by the European Union’s antitrust regulators, making the iPhone maker the first company to be fined under the union’s new digital antitrust rules for Big Tech, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the case. Watchdogs are preparing the penalty after Apple failed to allow app developers to steer users to cheaper deals and offers outside of the App Store, the report said. The European Commission could wage the fine before current EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager is set to leave office later this month, but there is a chance it could be pushed back to later this year, Bloomberg reported.

Apple (AAPL) iPhone-related factors will be the main drivers of near-term estimate revisions and stock performance, Morgan Stanley said in a note Friday. One such factor is the Apple Intelligence phase 1 rollout consumer response, which Morgan Stanley believes is “too early” to evaluate now. Other factors are the timing of when iOS18.2 will be launched in December and the timing of the rollout of the iPhone SE4, Morgan Stanley said. On Apple’s fiscal Q4 results, the investment bank said they were “admittedly mixed,” with revenue lighter than Morgan Stanley’s above-consensus estimate but “still seasonally better than the last two September quarters.” Morgan Stanley maintained Apple’s overweight rating and $273 price target. Apple shares were down 1.8% in recent Friday trading.

Apple’s newly released set of artificial-intelligence features hasn’t provided the boost some had expected for the iPhone maker, Quilter Cheviot’s Ben Barringer says in a note. The iPhone 16 disappointed users as AI capabilities aren’t proving to be overly beneficial yet as Apple Intelligence was only released on Oct. 28, Barringer notes. “Without an obvious catalyst to bring high single digit growth back, investors may be better placed in some of the other Magnificent Seven companies instead,” Barringer says. Apple shares are down 1.6% premarket at $222.29.

By Emily Bary A Jefferies analyst says it will take time for smartphone technology to truly support AI. That means sales expectations for the iPhone 16, and perhaps even the iPhone 17, may be too high. Hoping the iPhone 16 will drive a big wave of device upgrades? That view looks “premature,” in the view of one analyst. Jefferies’ Edison Lee assumed coverage of Apple Inc. shares (AAPL) over the weekend, and in doing so, downgraded the stock to hold from buy. By his assessment, it will take some time for artificial intelligence to improve the smartphone experience. “Smartphone hardware needs rework before being capable of serious AI, with likely timeline of 2026/27,” Lee said. He noted that “smartphones lack high-speed memory and advanced packaging tech” that facilitate rapid data transfers, and he said that while companies are trying to improve in this regard, it could take several years before

Apple (AAPL) saw a “strong demand start” for iPhone 16 over the weekend, reinforcing Wedbush Securities’ view that the technology giant will be able to break its historical mark for iPhone units in a year and reach a market capitalization of $4 trillion in 2025. The brokerage estimates iPhone 16 sales to be up high single digits and potentially double digits beginning with the December quarter, it said in a Sunday client note. Wedbush believes Apple’s highly anticipated artificial intelligence features for the new iPhone will be released in phases over the coming months. “This is the beginning of an AI driven iPhone supercycle that should enable Apple to break its historical mark for iPhone units in a year and translate into a $4 trillion market cap for Cupertino in 2025,” Wedbush analysts led by Daniel Ives wrote in the note. Based on the brokerage’s recent Asian supply chain checks,