Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Apple (AAPL +0.43%) has delivered extraordinary results over the long run. If you had invested $10,000 in the company 30 years ago and held on, you would be a multimillionaire today. However, the tech leader has encountered several headwinds in recent years, including tariffs, antitrust lawsuits, and a CEO change. Does Apple still have what it takes to beat the market? Let's try to determine what $10,000 invested in the company could be worth in five years.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Apple has attractive growth opportunitiesThe iPhone remains Apple's most important product by far. In the third quarter of its fiscal year 2026, which ended on June 27, Apple's revenue increased by 16% year over year to $109.4 billion.

iPhone sales came in at $54.2 billion -- almost half of the company's revenue -- up nearly 22% from the year-ago period. Although the iPhone no longer generates the buzz it did 15 years ago, recent quarters have shown that it can still be a meaningful growth driver.

And, in my view, investors should expect it to be just that over the next five years. Here are two reasons why. First, Apple is doubling down on artificial intelligence (AI)-powered features that could meaningfully move the needle on iPhone sales.

Apple's large installed base means it can quickly launch and scale various AI features, gather customer feedback, and make adjustments as needed. Consumers have widely adopted some AI services, and there is likely a market for even better ones.

Apple is arguably in an excellent position to reach millions of customers with its efforts in this market. Second, Apple recently launched the first foldable iPhone, which it dubbed the iPhone Duo. Other smartphone leaders have seen some success with foldable phones.

Apple's first entry into this market may or may not be a hit. It's too early to tell. But even if this version isn't popular, the company will likely make the necessary tweaks to ensure that the next one is. According to some estimates, foldable phones account for just 2% of the overall smartphone market, so there is plenty of room for growth in this category. Apple's recent entry could allow it to tap into this opportunity.

AAPL Apple$343.46+$1.46 (+0.43%)

NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/16/26

Beyond the iPhone, Apple should experience meaningful growth in other segments, especially its services unit. The company boasts more than 2.5 billion active devices in circulation and offers multiple subscription services across streaming, health, news, and more.

A larger installed base could mean faster services sales growth and stronger margins, since gross margins are much higher within this segment. This could lift Apple's profits over the next few years.

Where the stock could be by 2031Apple has navigated its recent headwinds fairly well. It has posted strong financial results despite tariffs and has not experienced significant adverse consequences from regulatory headwinds. In my view, it could be much the same through the next few years.

Even with steeper tariffs, Apple could shift its manufacturing footprint to mitigate the impact of higher duties while slightly raising prices to offset higher costs, something it can afford thanks to its strong customer loyalty, granting it significant pricing power.

So, I expect Apple's earnings per share (EPS) to grow at a good clip through the next five years. Assume the company can grow its EPS at an average of 13% per year over this period. Apple's current forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is 35.2, which is much higher than the information technology average of 20.2. But the company is arguably worth it, given its consistent and significant earnings and free cash flow, wide moat through switching costs and intangible assets (its brand name), and attractive long-term prospects.

Suppose the company's forward P/E drops to 32 by 2031; then the stock will generate an annualized return of about 10.87% over the next five years, turning $10,000 into roughly $16,752. That's without dividends reinvested. Those are competitive returns. Of course, if our assumptions are off, so is our prediction. Still, in my view, Apple looks well-positioned to deliver competitive returns over the next five years.

UBS has warned that shortening delivery times for Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, XETRA:APC)’s latest iPhones could signal weaker demand and put its revenue...

CNBC's MacKenzie Sigalos reports on consumer demand for Apple's iPhone Duo, the company's first foldable phone, as preorders open.

AAPL Apple$343.46+$1.46 (+0.43%)

NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/16/26

Apple (AAPL +0.43%), a consumer electronics and personal computing hardware provider, closed at $343.46, up 0.43%. The stock edged higher after reports that iPhone Duo preorders sold out quickly, and investors are watching the November 2 earnings call for guidance and demand updates.

Trading volume reached 59 million shares, coming in about 31% above its three-month average of 45 million shares.

How the markets moved todayS&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) closed at 7,659, down 1.09%, while Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) finished at 26,140, down 2.14%. Among consumer electronics and personal computing hardware peers, Microsoft (MSFT -1.93%) closed at $529.05, down 1.93%, and Alphabet (GOOGL -2.47%) closed at $340.59, down 2.47%, as investors kept focus on AI-debt pressure and semiconductor weakness.

What this means for investorsApple shares rose on Friday, Oct. 16, when pre-orders for its new iPhone Duo sold out within minutes in the morning. The Duo is the company's first foldable smartphone. It includes a 5.4-inch front display with a 7.6-inch foldable inner screen. Delivery dates quickly shifted from Oct. 23 into late January.

The strong demand for Apple's latest device propelled its stock back toward the 52-week high of $348.15 reached earlier in the week. In the company's 2026 third quarter, ended June 27, Apple posted record performance as revenue reached $109.4 billion, which represented a 16% year-over-year increase. The iPhone maker beat Wall Street expectations on revenue and profit, but investors focused on strong iPhone 17 demand and a softer near-term outlook that later weighed on sentiment.

With the Duo's preliminary success, Apple could see strong 2027 sales results. The question is how much of a headwind macroeconomic conditions, such as persistent inflation and rising interest rates, will be for the tech giant.

Robert Izquierdo has positions in Alphabet, Apple, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 13,991 shares of the iPhone maker's stock, valued at approximately $4,659,000. Apple

Echo45 Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) by 78.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,391 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 7,180 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts

Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 654.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,854 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 11,151 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 2.5% of Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $4,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.6% during the third quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 115,574 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $38,096,000 after buying an additional 5,038 shares during the last quarter. Baring Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 8.8% in the third quarter. Baring Financial LLC now owns 12,162 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,050,000 after acquiring an additional 981 shares during the period. Bath Savings Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Apple by 37.5% in the third quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 365,525 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $115,491,000 after acquiring an additional 99,601 shares during the period. Greenfield Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.1% in the third quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 65,277 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $21,664,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cassilly Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 58.7% in the third quarter. Cassilly Financial Group LLC now owns 2,324 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $774,000 after acquiring an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Performance NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $342.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $325.23 and a 200-day moving average of $305.90. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.42 and a 1 year high of $348.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.99 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year. Apple Dividend Announcement The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 12.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital set a $380.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Phillip Securities boosted their price objective on Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $340.39.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on AAPL

Insider Buying and Selling In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 46,389 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total transaction of $15,467,020.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,615,190.20. This trade represents a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Timothy D. Cook sold 191,753 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total value of $63,846,078.88. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,264,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,837,377.28. This represents a 5.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 281,782 shares of company stock valued at $93,740,172 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

More Apple News Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

Positive Sentiment: Apple and Meta Platforms are collaborating to let developers run Meta’s large Muse AI model locally on high-end Mac computers. The partnership could strengthen the Mac’s appeal for AI workloads while reducing reliance on cloud computing. Apple and Meta team up to make Muse AI model run on Mac computers Positive Sentiment: Apple’s first foldable iPhone, the 7.6-inch iPhone Duo, begins preorders Friday. A successful launch could open a new premium product category and support revenue growth, although its high price makes demand uncertain. iPhone Duo preorders begin Friday Positive Sentiment: Apple recently closed above a $5 trillion market capitalization, reinforcing investor confidence and highlighting the stock’s recent momentum. Reports also indicate Apple Intelligence may finally launch in mainland China in December, expanding the potential user base. Apple tops $5 trillion valuation Neutral Sentiment: The China AI rollout is reportedly limited and may exclude the upgraded Siri and Genmoji features, making the launch strategically important but less compelling than a full-featured release. Apple Intelligence in China Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators remain concerned that Apple is spending less on AI than rivals and could fall behind in advanced assistants, while the stock’s elevated valuation leaves less room for execution disappointments. Reported iPhone 18 Pro component-order reductions add to demand concerns. Apple reportedly cuts iPhone 18 orders Negative Sentiment: Apple is challenging a $5.7 billion damages ruling in a patent case, while OpenAI alleges that a former employee who joined Apple took confidential information about an unreleased device. Both matters create potential financial and reputational risk. Apple challenges Taction damages ruling Negative Sentiment: Senior Vice President Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 Apple shares for approximately $828,000. The transaction is relatively small compared with Apple’s market value, but insider selling can add modest short-term pressure. About Apple (Free Report)

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and software platforms, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and visionOS.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.

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Apple turned $10,000 into $127,753 over the last decade, but a $5 trillion market cap changes the math in ways most investors overlook. Here is what the model says your money could realistically become by 2031, and which risks could…

Ten years ago, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) traded at a split-adjusted $26.59. Shares now trade near $339.74 in midday trading, a 10-year gain of 1,177.53%. That turned a $10,000 investment into about $127,753.

The question for new money is simpler: what could $10,000 put into Apple today be worth by 2031? The answer below uses the model’s reference price of $336.64. Apple just posted record June quarter revenue on a strong iPhone 17 cycle and has Siri AI on deck, so it deserves a fresh forward look.

What $10,000 in Apple Could Become by 2031
Under the base scenario, a $10,000 investment could be worth about $16,271 by 2031, a total return of 62.71%. The projected five-year share price target of $547.74 works out to an annualized return of 10.23%.

Matching the last decade’s run would take a 10-year window, and the model doesn’t go out that far. Five years is the longest projected horizon, so every concrete number here is grounded to it. Even the most optimistic scenario falls well short of the prior decade’s pace.

That’s what you’d expect from a company with a $4.96T market cap, which can’t compound the way a smaller company can (we studied a lot of recent runners most investors missed and pulled out the pattern in a free report here).

Bull, Base and Bear Outcomes for a $10,000 Stake

Scenario
2031 Target Price
Total Return
Value of $10,000

Bull
$658.79
95.7%
$19,570

Base
$547.74
62.71%
$16,271

Bear
$378.14
12.33%
$11,233

Over one year, the model’s base target is $392.04 (16.46% upside). A $10,000 investment would grow to about $11,646. The one-year bull case reaches $13,214, while the downside scenario slips to $9,912. The model has a confidence score of 0.9.

Wall Street is more cautious. The consensus analyst target is $328.09, which stands below the current price, with ratings split across 6 strong buys, 19 buys, 13 holds, 3 sells, plus 3 strong sells.

Three Drivers Powering the Upside Case
iPhone 17 and Mac Demand Outrunning Supply
iPhone revenue grew 22% to $54.3 billion last quarter, and Apple set a June quarter record for upgraders. Mac revenue grew 29%, with MacBook Neo demand running ahead of supply.

On the July earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said: “This is the most powerful and most popular iPhone lineup we’ve ever had.”

Services Keeps Compounding
Services revenue hit $30.7 billion, up 12%, with records in every services category. It is the high-margin engine behind Apple’s 0.326 trailing operating margin. Total revenue reached $109.42B, up 16.4% year over year, and EPS of $2.02 came in ahead of the $1.88 estimate.

Siri AI and a Huge Capital Return Program
Apple unveiled Siri AI at WWDC, and management framed it as a possible driver of future iPhone purchases. “There are enormous opportunities for Apple moving forward in AI,” Cook said.

Shareholders also get support from capital returns. The board added a new $100B buyback authorization, Apple bought back $25.8 billion of stock last quarter, and the quarterly dividend rose to $0.27.

Risks That Could Shrink Your Return

Valuation: Shares trade at 39x trailing earnings and 35x forward earnings, with a PEG ratio of 2.706. If that multiple shrinks, your returns could be flat even while earnings grow.
Memory costs: Cook called memory pricing “a 100-year flood”. Apple guided September quarter gross margin to 47% to 48%, down from 50.1%. Tariff refunds also helped last quarter’s EPS by 11 cents, a boost that may not repeat.
Supply and iPhone 18: Management expected significantly greater supply constraints in the September quarter. Shares also fell after a report that Apple was cutting iPhone 18 Pro component orders (Barron’s, Forbes).
Regulation: The Supreme Court will hear Apple’s App Store appeal, and the Siri AI rollout in Europe still depends on talks with regulators.

The pessimistic scenario puts numbers on the downside. Over five years it returns just 2.35% a year, and on a one-year view it ends slightly below today’s price.

Where Your $10,000 Could Land by 2031
Across the projected scenarios, a $10,000 Apple investment could be worth between $11,233 and $19,570 by 2031, with a base case of about $16,271.

That’s solid compounding, but it’s far from another 12X decade. These figures are scenarios, not guarantees. This is a projection, not investment advice.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

CNBC's MacKenzie Sigalos reports on Apple as the company opens pre-orders for iPhone Duo.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares rose over 2% in premarket trading Friday, according to Benzinga Pro, after an AppleInsider report said the iPhone Duo sold out moments after pre-orders opened, pushing the stock to a new all-time high today. Apple was rising even as the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) slipped 0.09% in premarket trading.

Tomorrow's a big day for Apple (AAPL -0.28%) and for its legion of fans. The iPhone Duo, the company's first foldable phone, goes on sale at 8 AM ET/5 AM PT.

In its press release, Apple lists several "ways to save and pay, including leasing with Apple Upgrade, financing options, and carrier deals," a clear nod to the fact that not everyone will be able to pay the device's eye-popping $1,999 starting sticker price up front.

So, is the Duo likely to be a game changer for Apple? Here's what investors should expect from the hottest new device in Apple's product lineup.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Why Apple might want to steal its own customersGiven the Duo's extremely high price point, it probably won't be that appealing to Android users looking to try out an iPhone for the first time. $2,000 is a hefty risk to take on a product you might not end up liking.

Plus, Android users already have foldable phone options in the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold and the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, both of which have received generally positive reviews. The biggest drawback for each also seems to be the pricing, at $1,799 for the Pixel and $1,899 for the Galaxy.

Because the Duo can essentially function both as a phone with a 5.4" screen and as a small tablet with a 7.6" screen, it seems more likely to appeal to Apple users who would otherwise buy an iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone Air, or iPhone 18 Pro Max, which have screen sizes of 6.3", 6.5", and 6.9", respectively.

That's not a bad thing, though. The aforementioned products start at $1,099, $1,199, and $1,299, respectively, so upgrading a customer from any of those products to the $1,999 Duo would bring in 54% to 82% more revenue for Apple. Notably, it even brings in more revenue than a purchase of a non-Duo iPhone and a $699 iPad Mini with its 8.3" screen.

How much revenue could Apple bring in from the Duo?Estimates vary as to how much the Duo's release could affect Apple's top line. Counterpoint Research anticipates 6 million Duo sales during 2026, while research firm IDC forecasts 10 million sales in the first 12 months.

Even if Apple could exceed those projections and sell about 5 million Duos per quarter at the starting price for a year, that would translate to $40 billion in annual revenue, just under 10% of Apple's 2025 revenue of $416.2 billion. Since most of those sales would likely come from existing Apple customers, it looks more like a nice boost to revenue than a "game changer."

However, the real game changer for Apple could be over the long term, as the Duo augments Apple's other upcoming new product, the HomeView.

AAPL Apple$342.00-$0.96 (-0.28%)

NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/15/26

Apple is making a serious play for the connected homeApple has long ceded the connected home market to rivals Amazon (AMZN +0.27%) and Alphabet's (GOOG +0.37%) (GOOGL +0.45%) Google. With no Apple options available, many longtime iPhone users set up Nest thermostats and Ring doorbells. Millions more opted for inexpensive Echo smart speakers over Apple's pricey $349 HomePod.

But starting on Nov. 13, Apple's HomeView smart device goes on sale. Consisting of a countertop or wall-mounted 7" Liquid Retina display powered by Siri AI, the $299 device will become the cheapest current-generation screen-based product Apple sells. It will use facial recognition to interface with compatible Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhones and iPads, offering up to 6 iPhone users personalized profiles and content.

With the launch of the $149 HomePod mini 2 on Oct. 30, it looks as though Apple is finally making a compelling case for household adoption and ecosystem streamlining. Having an Apple ecosystem in your home could, in turn, provide a powerful incentive for consumers to stick with iPhones and other Apple Intelligence-enabled devices like the Duo over competitors' products.

Image source: Getty Images.

What investors should look forWith Apple's market cap surpassing $5 trillion yesterday, investors should be looking for more than just a sold-out first run of a pricey, highly anticipated device.

Instead, investors should be looking for evidence that the Duo is in fact enticing Android users to switch and iPhone users to trade up. Evidence of gradual but sustained growth across the company's connected home products would also demonstrate that Apple's premium pricing strategy is working.

That said, rave Duo reviews and news of brisk sales would likely boost Apple's stock in the short run.

Apple (AAPL -0.28%) has quietly been one of the better-performing stocks of 2026. It has risen about 25% so far in 2026, easily crushing the S&P 500's (^GSPC +0.33%) 14% rise.  But the question is: Is it still a good stock to buy compared to other big tech names?

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Want AI exposure? Apple doesn't have it Part of the reason why Apple's stock has done so well so far this year is its lack of artificial intelligence (AI) exposure. While I personally think this is a bad strategy for Apple over the long term, not every investor does. The company is taking a very measured approach to AI, and in true Apple style, it's once again a late arrival to the party.

Apple has taken its time to launch AI features in its ecosystem, and only recently introduced generative AI to Siri, its virtual assistant. However, the model behind Siri AI isn't anything Apple developed in-house; it uses Google Gemini from Alphabet.

This decision could prove to be brilliant. After all, Apple has hardly spent anything on capital expenditures recently compared to Alphabet.

AAPL Capital Expenditures (TTM) data by YCharts

Alphabet has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on AI infrastructure and will continue to do so. Apple has spent practically nothing, and although it will need to pay to use Gemini, the cost of that over the next decade may not eclipse what Alphabet spent in a year on AI computing capacity. As a result, Apple may have a winning strategy here.

Furthermore, Apple may be developing a suite of AI products that it will offer on a monthly subscription basis. This would create a new revenue stream for Apple if users find the products worth paying for.

Once again, Apple would likely use someone else's AI model, so its operating costs would be only marginally higher than those of funding massive data centers itself. However, because Apple cannot control the capabilities of another firm's AI model, it may not be able to get exactly what it wants from AI.

AAPL Apple$342.00-$0.96 (-0.28%)

NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/15/26

We'll see how Apple adopts AI, but because it isn't spending big to build it out, investors have fallen in love with the stock again. While their enthusiasm for it isn't necessarily misguided, it has caused Apple stock to swell to a premium valuation.

The question is, does it deserve it?

Apple's stock isn't cheap From a price-to-earnings ratio standpoint, Apple is by far the most expensive big tech stock, trading at nearly 40 times trailing earnings.

AAPL PE Ratio data by YCharts.

This is approaching some of the highest levels it has traded at in the past few years, which should raise a red flag for investors. If Apple gets too expensive, it could spend a few years trading sideways because its future growth has been priced in. In that case, it would be a less desirable stock to own.

Apple's fiscal 2027 has already started, which means when next fiscal year's results are used to price the stock, you're using 2028 projections. From a 2028 standpoint, Apple is still valued at a fairly expensive 31 times earnings.

AAPL PE Ratio (Forward 1y) data by YCharts.

This means that if Apple's stock price doesn't move from now until October 2028 and the company's results are in line with analysts' expectations, it would trade for about 31.5 times earnings. That's about where I'd expect an average big tech stock to trade, which means Apple has about two years' worth of growth priced into its stock.

That doesn't bode well for its medium-term returns, which makes it a stock to steer clear of. While I understand that Apple has become a popular pick because it hasn't spent much on AI, I think this trend has been overblown. Investors would be better off looking into AI investments with cheaper valuations compared to Apple.

In this episode of Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing, Motley Fool analyst Jason Moser sits down with Ron Johnson -- creator of the Apple Store and author of Shop Different -- to explore:

What Steve Jobs really cared about,.Why Apple's new CEO John Turnus doesn't need to be in a hurry.What Ron's very public stumble at JCPenney taught him that two decades of success at Target and Apple never could.To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center. When you're ready to invest, check out this top 10 list of stocks to buy.

A full transcript is below.

This podcast was recorded on Sept. 27, 2026.

Ron Johnson: Turn back the clock to 2000. Apple was a 25-year-old company that had largely been defeated. You know, they invented the personal computer. Steve came back in '97; Apple had 5% market share. Microsoft had 95. Now, if he translated that to a baseball game, they were behind 19 to one.

Jason Moser: That was Ron Johnson, creator of the Apple Store and author of Shop Different on why the world's most powerful retail brand never tries to sell you anything. I'm Motley Fool analyst Jason Moser. Ron spent years working directly alongside Steve Jobs to build the Apple Store from the ground up. And his new book reveals what that experience taught him about retail leadership and what makes customers stay genuinely loyal for life. In this conversation, Ron and I talked about the inside story of Apple's retail gamble, why he thinks new Apple CEO John Ternus doesn't need to be in a hurry, and what his very public stumble at J.C. Penney taught him that no amount of success ever could. We hope you enjoy. Welcome to Motley Fool Conversations. I'm Jason Moser, and today, I am excited to welcome the creator of the Apple Store, Mr. Ron Johnson. Now, prior to Apple, Ron was a merchant leader at Target. At Post Apple, he served as the CEO of JCPenney, and he's also an author. His new book, Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius, is out now and available wherever you get your books. Ron, welcome to the show.

Ron Johnson: Hello, Jason, thanks for having me out. It's great to be with you.

Jason Moser: It's a big thrill to meet you here, and I'm just looking forward to the conversation. I think I just want to get started here. You know, your career is unique. It covers such a broad cross-section of the overall retail environment. So I'd like to start at the beginning.

Ron Johnson: Sure.

Jason Moser: Talk about your time at Target. What was it that drew you to that opportunity?

Ron Johnson: Well, I was in business school. I went to Harvard Business School, but I had grown up in a suburb of Minneapolis where Target was founded. Yeah, where Dayton Hudson was based. And I love being in stores. And so when I was graduating from business school, I had offers, like a lot of the kids, to go into investment banking; like at Goldman or Solomon both offered me jobs. But I kind of wanted to do something I might love for a lifetime. And I didn't think it was banking, and so I picked retail. I love being in stores. And so I went to work with a subsidiary at the time of Dayton Hudson, which got renamed Target, as most of your people now called Mervyns on the West Coast. And I started after business school; I got to unload trucks. Which was really fun. I could do it really fast. I could get a big trailer done in about 45 minutes on a good day and filled on the floor and in the stock room. And then they let me work on the cash rep and straighten clothes. But eventually, I, you know, ended up at Target. At about age 30. It was a great time to be there. It was about 1990, and that's when the discount wars were at their peak. You know, the US had about ten to 12 discount stores, one for every region, it seemed. But it was clear it was going to come down to Walmart and Target. And Target was the higher-priced suburban differentiator, and Walmart was the low-cost rural operator. But they were now moving into the suburbs, and it was a great battle. And so I kind of cut my teeth in retail really as a merchant at Target. And that was a big part of what I did.

Jason Moser: Okay, so now we're getting to a seminal moment in your life, and that of Apple's, I might say, as well. You go to Apple. Now, how did that unfold? I mean, going to such an important and amazing business, and even at that time, maybe it wasn't quite where it is today, still a big move. How did that unfold?

Ron Johnson: Well, it was actually pretty cool, but no one thought it was a good idea for me to go there. Because if you go, turn back the clock to 2000. Okay? This is when I went to Apple, 1999, late 1999. Apple was a 25-year-old company that had largely been defeated. You know, they invented the personal computer. Steve came back in 1997, Apple had 5% market share. Microsoft had 95. Now, if you translated that to a baseball game, they were behind 19 to one. I mean, that's how tough it was for Apple. But Steve concluded he wanted to open stores. And that says a lot about Steve; this was 2000 when the Internet was going to take over the world. And prominent venture capitalists like Marc Andreessen said, you know, stores in the future world no longer exist. It's like people today saying, In the AI, we're not gonna exist. You know, People thought this technology would change the world in that way, but Steve knew, after 25 years, if Apple had better products but couldn't win, you know, with technology without a store, that was the missing link. And he wanted to improve Apple's go-to-market. He called me to talk to me about it because I had done some pretty significant work at Target. I was the guy who brought design to Target. You know, I get all the credit for it. A lot of people did that together, but I brought a partnership with Michael Graves, which kind of changed Target. For your investors out there, Target would have been a good buy in 1990. It went up 12 times during the decade.

Jason Moser: Oh, yeah.

Ron Johnson: 12x was pretty good. It really outperformed Walmart during that period. Walmart's now won the last 25 years of that period. But I went to Apple to work with Steve to create the stores. Now, the reason it was controversy is Apple was trading a little above cash value. You know, Apple was seen as a high-risk company. Steve was kind of legendary for firing people in the elevator. And I've had this great career at Target, which is just doing awesome. You know, people said, Why would you leave to go to a company like Apple? And Target's got 100,000 products. Apple has four. What are you gonna do? You're going to build a store around four products. And I just met Steve, and I said, This is what I want to do, and I did it. Yeah.

Jason Moser: I'm always amazed at how crowded those stores still are to this day. I'm always just astounded. You could go to a mall, and, like, every other store is empty. The Apple store, you can bet dollars to donuts. It's gonna be full. It's gonna be busy, and people are just loving being there. Now, mentioned at the top of the show, you're the creator of the Apple Store, which I think is just phenomenal. Now, you talked about how you convinced Steve Jobs to build a store based on love. And the Apple Store shows how love, I think, works as a business strategy. How do you think companies can incorporate love into the workplace?

Ron Johnson: Well, I think you need to, as I spoke to Steve. When I told Steve, he said, Run. One of the first conversations is, What's our service strategy going to be? And I said, We're going to love our customer. And he said, I don't love Mike. What do you mean? We're gonna love our customer? I don't love our customer. That's a strange word to him. Not that he didn't love his family and his wife, but he didn't understand love at work. And I said, No, love works. And I said, Here's what it means. You love customers; I can tell because of how you design products. No, your number one priority is ease of use. You do that to secure the good of a customer. That's all love is. You find a customer. You ask the question, How can I secure their good? What is that they need? So it's very simple, Steve. Everyone who comes in the store, we're going to give them a warm welcome. We're going to ask them why they came to the store that day, 'cause nobody walks in by accident. There's a lot of stores they came in here; whether they did browsing or I'd like to I've never tried a Mac. Well, why don't we set you up on a Mac? We'll get you started. I'll let you go. And if you need any questions, just reach out and come back. If not, just have fun. And we're done, you know, we'll see you next time. But it was all about whatever the customer needs. Let's make sure when they come to the store that day, they interact with an employee, we address their reason for coming, and give them a fond farewell. You know? And that's what love was, you know? And so, love starts by having a vision for how you're going to take care of customers. But then it's most important: how do you love your employees? Same thing. How do you secure the good of an employee? And you just got to go through every step in the hiring process, everything you do to create a place people love to work, you know? But it's really quite simple. We love people all day long, you know, personal lives. You know, it's just how do we do that at work? You know? We always had an idea. You know, Jason, it was don't try to sell anything. You know, I tell Steve. We're not going to sell our way to success. That's transactional. You're going to turn more people off try and do that than you're gonna turn on. You know, we're going to serve our way to significance. And that's significance in their lives.

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Jason Moser: I want to ask you, you say at Target. You thought you were dreaming big, but then Steve Jobs changed that perspective for you. I wonder what you could share about that mindset shift.

Ron Johnson: Yeah, Target, like Many, it was a great company in the 90s, and it's still having a good period again now. They've got a new CEO, as we all probably know, and they seem to be getting back to their, you know, Target. But, you know, at Target, you were encouraged to be different 'cause we had to be different than Walmart. But radical innovation wasn't really encouraged. Like, when I did the big designing for Michael Graves, the CEO said to me, Ronnie, goes, I think it's a good idea. Why don't you use three items, put them on a back end cap, and see if anyone buys them. And if they do well, do a fourth. Well, you know, we launched with 140 products. We took over the two main aisles of the home area. And in many ways, it changed Target. But, you know, when I was at Target, you know, if you thought big, there were a lot of people challenging why maybe we shouldn't do that. You know, and there's a lot of kind of pullback, and you push it through, but it was work, you know? So I get to Apple, and, you know, I'm now reporting to Steve Jobs. And whatever I thought of, he's thinking one step beyond. You know, I think big; he'd think bigger. You know, Steve, I think, had the privilege. You know, he changed the world in his early 20s, inventing the personal computer, you know, the Apple computer, and went public at age 24. He did it again with Pixar with movies. You know, so he lived his life to do these really significant things. You know, that was the iPod. That was the phone. That was the iPad. That was the music store. That was the stores to him. You know, he knew retail was important for Apple, but he wanted it to be great. And so he invested a lot of his personal time during the first year when we created the prototype to make sure it was the best that he could, you know, imagine. And so, to me, where it got bigger was, I always had an imagination. I wanted to do big things. But it was nothing like, you know, being in a room with Steve Jobs. Because he just thought bigger than any of us, you know?

Jason Moser: Yeah. No, I can imagine. So, Steve Jobs, we go to Tim Cook. Apple has just seen another meaningful transition in leadership to John Ternus. Ternus taking over now for Tim Cook. He has obviously some big shoes to fill. I think, you know, I remember very vividly, we as a team were all talking about Tim Cook taking over for Steve Jobs: how's this going to work? Can he do it? I mean, you look back, and you think, Wow, what a track record. He obviously did a phenomenal job. In regard to John Ternus, what do you think his focus needs to be on? Is it more about trying to make some sort of a big splash in some way, or is he better off, at least in the near term, just focusing on maintaining the status quo and letting what's working keep on working?

Ron Johnson: Well, that's a really good question. You know, Apple has had two great CEO transitions in a row. You know, Steve coming back? You know, for a dozen years, 15 years. Tim, leading for another 15-plus years. And now you got John. And I think the lesson is what makes Apple a great company is they never really in a hurry.

Jason Moser: Yeah.

Ron Johnson: That makes sense?

Jason Moser: Yeah, absolutely.

Ron Johnson: Steve famously just did great work. You know, we never looked at the stock price in the ET meeting. We never even talked about it. Yeah, we didn't manage a business to make money. We managed the business to create amazing products, get them to as many people as could take care of customers, and the outcome would be made, you know, profit. And Steve led that way. Tim led that way. Yeah, Tim and I think Steve and Tim were very unique people. Steve was clearly a leader and innovator. Tim was more of a manager and operator, but they both produced extraordinary results. You know, Steve really helped build out the product line. Tim then optimized every one of those products, but took it to the world. You know, I mean, Apple's got nearly 2 billion users now around the world using products. When I started, it was 25 million. You know, and I bet if you look at when Tim took over, his CEOs in the hundreds of millions.

Jason Moser: Damn.

Ron Johnson: You know, the work it's really hard to build an installed customer base, right? So, Apple has this very loyal installed base of 2 billion customers. You know, the reality, you're not going to double the business by doubling your customers. There's only so many people in the world. So for Apple, and I think John, I assume he fully understands. It's about making sure the customer has a great experience with every products. And you improve these products on a regular basis through a lot of hard work, and you're improving every aspect of the product: the chipset, the hardware, the software experience, the apps. These are simple devices in some ways, but they're very complex that everyone uses. And so I think John doesn't need to be in a hurry. Apple should be at the forefront of innovation on the hardware side, the software side, but I don't think he has to worry about there being a magic new device that's going to take away the iPhone. You know, this iPhone has been the form factor for 20 years, and it's portable. It fits in your pocket. It's got a really worthwhile size screen, you know, and Apple already has a lot of AI devices. You know, your AirPods are an AI device now.

Jason Moser: Yeah.

Ron Johnson: Your watch is an AI device. You know, everyone talks about what's these next little pins on things are going to be? Well, I'm personally not on pins and needles worried about that.

Jason Moser: No, no, nor am I.

Ron Johnson: And then Apple is proven. And the mindset there now is it's not about being first. It's about being best.

Jason Moser: You said it. I was just going to bring that up. That's Everything that you were saying right there just reminded me of we've heard Tim Cook say this many times. It's not about being first. It's about being best. And clearly that's working.

Ron Johnson: It's working. And Apple perfect example is, you know, it was hard. I mean, Apple's arguably been behind on AI. Siri was announced a long time ago. It hasn't been at the standard that you'd expect from an AI agent. I've been using the new one with IOS 27. It's much, much better. With the integration they have with Gemini and, or Chat GPT, whatever they're doing behind the scenes, it's much better, you know, but the thing Apple's done right on that is its privacy. You know, there's this huge concern people have for privacy. And Apple never sacrificed. They always protected that. You know, Steve started that. You know, when the Internet came out, he created a product in 2001. He announced called Kid Safe. Which is meant to keep kids safe when they're online. And just last week's Tim was in Australia with the prime minister talking about how do you keep iPhones safe for kids. Yeah, so privacy, safety, these are kind of core values of Apple. And so when I look at John, it's about leading that company with great people, but protecting the values that make Apple great, the ability to think different. The love of the customer and enriching their lives. This deep, deep, deep integration of hardware, software, from the factory to the store, owning that customer experience. These things are deep in Apple's core, and that's why we are so loyal to Apple. And I think John has obviously been there 25 years. So he's drunk the Kool-Aid. He's soaked up the culture. He seems like just an incredible leader. I know from talking to people there, the transition's been embraced fully. Tim's worked hard at that. I expect John will put a stamp on the company just like Tim did just like Steve did. And that he'll be a leader there for a long time. That's what I hope, and I expect that.

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Jason Moser: Okay, so circling back to the top of the show here, we talked about how your retail experience, your professional experience. It's such a broad cross section of the retail environment. I wonder what do you think companies can learn from your experience at Target, at Apple, at JCPenney that can help inform their design, their sort of understanding of the customer experience.

Ron Johnson: Well, I think you can learn from my successes, you can learn from my failures. From my successes, that you can learn how to really innovate, how to be bold, how to do things that haven't been done before. And you can learn how to really serve customers, and it goes back to what I said earlier. You're not in the transaction. You're in the relationship business.

Jason Moser: Yeah.

Ron Johnson: You're a company: How many customers do I have? And how loyal are they? And how do I deepen that relationship? I would look at a business from a customer metric-based perspective. You know, how deep is that relationship? And that's what you learned from it. But, you know, I had a big failure. When I went to Penny's, that didn't work. And so I could write a whole book about how not to transform a company. I went in there.

Jason Moser: It was a difficult situation, too, admittedly, I mean, that was a difficult situation.

Ron Johnson: Well, I made it harder, you know, 'cause I went in. You know, I had the impression they wanted to change. It turns out they really didn't. I hit a wall.

Jason Moser: Right.

Ron Johnson: You know, the employees, quite frankly, felt that, you know, I looked at it. There had been 150 department stores in the US in 1960, unique nameplates. You know, Dayton's, Marshall Fields, I Magnin, you name it. There were about ten when I got the pennies, and the department store segment had gone way down as the Internet, especially stores, big box retail, had all gone way up. You know, the share of the business in departments was way down. And so I thought if the department store had a chance, it had to reinvent itself for the next hundred years. Well, it turns out nobody else thought that. You know, Cannys, they were just happy they had survived. They were like, the champion of the lower-income customer. And in spite of the stock being the same as it was 40 years before, they were winners, you know? So I go in there, having been at Apple, where you're always trying to change the world, and you're comfortable with innovation, I present an innovative vision. They didn't want to do that, you know? And then I could have taken my time, gone slower, and really built a team to implement that. I could have brought in some new people. I could have taken the time to make sure people understood. I could have listened more to what were the real needs of that customer and not just putting my retail hat on from what all I experienced on the outside. You know, so I learned a lot about how not to transform a comedy. Because I made a lot of mistakes. I think the vision wasn't the issue. You know, it was the implementation of it. So for my career, you know, I've seen a lot of industries, and especially in retail, a lot of different types of formats. But I can help a lot with how to design a great customer experience, how to win on innovation, how to build a culture where people love to work that's built on love. But you're probably not going to hire me to do a transformation of a company. Because I don't have a good track record of that.

Jason Moser: Yeah, you know, I've always felt like as investors, one of the greatest superpowers is learning how to embrace your mistakes because those really are the biggest teachers. And if you can have that humility and embrace them and actually almost look forward to making the mistakes. You just don't realize at the time, at least, how much you learn from that. And then in looking back, it's just the knowledge that you gain from those experiences is just phenomenal.

Ron Johnson: I agree.

Jason Moser: Well, I like that perspective, and we'll leave it there. He's the author of the book Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius, which is out now available wherever you get your books. Mr. Ron Johnson, thank you so much for taking the time to join us today.

Ron Johnson: The pleasure was mine. Thank you, Moser.

Jason Moser: As always, people on the program may have interest in the stocks they talk about, and the Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buy or sell stocks based solely on what you hear. All personal finance content follows Motley Fool editorial standards. It is not approved by advertisers. Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. To see our full advertising disclosure, please check out our show notes. To see the full interview, please go check our Motley Pool Conversations YouTube page. For the Motley Fool Investing Team, I'm Jason Moser. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time.

Apple is finally preparing to bring AI features to China after years of regulatory delays, but the version heading there is already two years old and missing the one feature that matters most to consumers.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) closed on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at a market value of about $5.01 trillion. That made it the second company ever to close above five trillion dollars. Shares rose 0.50% to $342.96 and added 0.59% after hours to $345.00, while NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) fell 3.16%.

On the same day, reports said Apple is preparing to launch its first Apple Intelligence features in China in December, but the company has not announced a date or issued a press release.

For shareholders, the concern is Apple’s valuation. The stock trades at about 45 times earnings, and the AI it would finally ship in China is the version it introduced in 2024. The all-new Siri AI revealed at WWDC26 is left out.

China is too big for that gap to count as a footnote. Greater China brought in $18.82 billion of Apple’s $109.42 billion in June-quarter revenue.

What December Would Deliver
Mark Gurman posted on X on October 14, 2026. He wrote: “NEW: Apple is preparing to launch the first set of Apple Intelligence features in China in December after being stuck in years of regulatory scrutiny.”

The package would reportedly come with an upcoming iOS point release. It includes Writing Tools, notification summaries, Genmoji and Clean Up in Photos, while Apple’s image-generation tools are expected to stay unavailable.

Tim Cook spoke on the July 30, 2026 earnings call. He said Apple had approval “to ship sort of the original features of Apple Intelligence, things like Clean Up and so forth.” He gave no launch date.

Siri AI Stays Out of China
The reported launch leaves out Siri AI and the newer features shipping in the United States in the current software cycle, and Apple executives also reportedly see little chance of Siri AI coming to China anytime soon.

This exclusion is the main story because the assistant is the part of the product that consumers judge. In July, Cook said, “There will be more work required down the road for Siri AI, but we’re at the front end of that.”

Regulators explain the two-year wait for the original features. The Siri gap belongs to Apple, because the work needed to bring its newest assistant to China is only beginning.

Alibaba, Baidu and Beijing’s Filters
Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) confirmed in July that it would build its Qwen model into Apple services in China, so that partnership is public. Apple reportedly worked with Alibaba on content filtering built around local rules. Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) is reportedly involved in search and Siri.

Updated network access permits from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology list Apple Intelligence next to Alibaba models. No financial terms with either partner have been disclosed.

Working through local partners gets Apple into the market, but it undermines the Apple-controlled privacy pitch it makes elsewhere. Huawei and Xiaomi, meanwhile, have shipped their own assistants all along.

Apple’s business remains strong, as June-quarter revenue grew 16.4%, and EPS of $2.02 beat the $1.89 consensus.

What Could Change the Outlook for AAPL Stock
The stock is priced for an AI story that, in China, is still missing its main feature.

Nvidia has more direct exposure to AI spending. Its Data Center revenue grew 117%, and its GPUs run Apple’s own Private Cloud Compute. That means Nvidia profits from AI demand whether or not Siri ever reaches China.

Nvidia has its own China risk, since its guidance leaves out Data Center compute revenue from China. After the drop, it closed at $221.30.

One sign to check is whether Apple Intelligence actually goes live in China by December 31, 2026. The other is whether Apple names a China date for Siri AI. A confirmed Siri timeline would change this view, and without one, Apple’s China AI plan is a defensive move.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

American National Bank & Trust lifted its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 9.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 207,679 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 18,434 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 6.0% of American National Bank & Trust’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. American National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Apple were worth $67,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AAPL. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth about $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,443,242,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,658,359,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $10,588,946,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple In related news, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total value of $8,460,671.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,832,236.98. This trade represents a 29.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 46,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total transaction of $15,467,020.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,615,190.20. The trade was a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 279,383 shares of company stock valued at $92,912,517. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. KeyCorp reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Maxim Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $340.39. Check Out Our Latest Report on Apple

Trending Headlines about Apple Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

Positive Sentiment: Apple’s $299 HomeView smart-home hub, along with new cameras, a doorbell, smart lock, thermostat and updated Apple TV and HomePod products, gives the company new hardware and ecosystem expansion opportunities. Analysts also see potential for recurring iCloud+ and other Services revenue. Apple releases HomeView smart home hub with screen as showcase for Siri AI Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly plans to launch Apple Intelligence in mainland China in December, potentially improving access to AI features in a strategically important market. Apple to Release AI Platform in Mainland China Positive Sentiment: Apple benefited from news that GlobalFoundries will build two New York fabs with up to $21 billion in U.S.-Japan funding. Apple is expected to source chips from the expanded domestic capacity, supporting supply-chain diversification. GlobalFoundries Secures $21B for New York Fabs Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism was reinforced by Apple’s market value reclaiming the $5 trillion milestone, while analyst Dan Ives suggested a stronger AI strategy could support a $400 price target. Apple reaches new highs ahead of iPhone Duo preorders Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s iPhone Duo preorders begin October 16. Strong demand could provide a near-term catalyst, but reports of shorter iPhone 18 Pro delivery windows and reduced supplier production have raised questions about demand. Neutral Sentiment: Analysts estimate that a paid, more capable Siri could eventually generate substantial Services revenue, but Apple has not announced pricing or a launch date for expanded AI access. Negative Sentiment: OpenAI alleges that a former employee who joined Apple transferred more than 100 confidential files concerning an unreleased device. The case could create legal, reputational and product-development risks, although there is no indication Apple used the information. OpenAI alleges former employee took device files to Apple Negative Sentiment: Gene Munster warned Apple could lose the AI platform battle if users become loyal to rival assistants such as Meta’s Muse or Grok. Critics also questioned whether HomeView meaningfully addresses Apple’s AI shortcomings. Negative Sentiment: With Apple trading near record levels at a rich valuation, investors are concerned that slower growth, margin pressure and uncertain iPhone demand may limit further upside. Apple Trading Up 0.5% Shares of AAPL opened at $342.96 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $324.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $305.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.42 and a 12-month high of $348.15.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 12.39%.

Apple Profile (Free Report)

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and software platforms, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and visionOS.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.

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Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,346 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,423 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 2.9% of Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,443,242,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $13,658,359,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,588,946,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 46,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total transaction of $15,467,020.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,615,190.20. The trade was a 25.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $332.01, for a total value of $796,491.99. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 39,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,145,271.93. The trade was a 5.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 279,383 shares of company stock worth $92,912,517 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In AAPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore set a $380.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $400.00 target price on Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Loop Capital set a $380.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Friday, September 18th. China Renaissance downgraded Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $329.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $366.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $340.39. View Our Latest Report on AAPL

Apple Price Performance Apple stock opened at $342.96 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $324.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $305.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.42 and a 1 year high of $348.15. The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.13. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.39%.

Apple News Roundup Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

Positive Sentiment: Apple’s $299 HomeView smart-home hub, along with new cameras, a doorbell, smart lock, thermostat and updated Apple TV and HomePod products, gives the company new hardware and ecosystem expansion opportunities. Analysts also see potential for recurring iCloud+ and other Services revenue. Apple releases HomeView smart home hub with screen as showcase for Siri AI Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly plans to launch Apple Intelligence in mainland China in December, potentially improving access to AI features in a strategically important market. Apple to Release AI Platform in Mainland China Positive Sentiment: Apple benefited from news that GlobalFoundries will build two New York fabs with up to $21 billion in U.S.-Japan funding. Apple is expected to source chips from the expanded domestic capacity, supporting supply-chain diversification. GlobalFoundries Secures $21B for New York Fabs Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism was reinforced by Apple’s market value reclaiming the $5 trillion milestone, while analyst Dan Ives suggested a stronger AI strategy could support a $400 price target. Apple reaches new highs ahead of iPhone Duo preorders Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s iPhone Duo preorders begin October 16. Strong demand could provide a near-term catalyst, but reports of shorter iPhone 18 Pro delivery windows and reduced supplier production have raised questions about demand. Neutral Sentiment: Analysts estimate that a paid, more capable Siri could eventually generate substantial Services revenue, but Apple has not announced pricing or a launch date for expanded AI access. Negative Sentiment: OpenAI alleges that a former employee who joined Apple transferred more than 100 confidential files concerning an unreleased device. The case could create legal, reputational and product-development risks, although there is no indication Apple used the information. OpenAI alleges former employee took device files to Apple Negative Sentiment: Gene Munster warned Apple could lose the AI platform battle if users become loyal to rival assistants such as Meta’s Muse or Grok. Critics also questioned whether HomeView meaningfully addresses Apple’s AI shortcomings. Negative Sentiment: With Apple trading near record levels at a rich valuation, investors are concerned that slower growth, margin pressure and uncertain iPhone demand may limit further upside. About Apple (Free Report)

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and software platforms, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and visionOS.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.

Featured Stories Five stocks we like better than Apple Tesla Wants to Make Its Own Chips—What Could Go Wrong? IREN Limited’s AI Pivot Gains Traction—But Can Its Data Centers Deliver? PBF Energy’s Stunning Rally Faces a Critical Test Citi Stock Falls Despite Earnings Beat: What Investors Need to Know Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report).

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PFW Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,722 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after buying an additional 3,281 shares during the period. Apple comprises about 2.5% of PFW Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. PFW Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Strong Retirement Solutions LLC boosted its position in Apple by 22.2% during the third quarter. Strong Retirement Solutions LLC now owns 18,693 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,399 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust grew its stake in Apple by 9.7% in the third quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 207,679 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $67,512,000 after purchasing an additional 18,434 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 22,265 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,415,000 after purchasing an additional 2,550 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co increased its position in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 15,029 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,005,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crumly & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 27,129 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets In other Apple news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 46,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.42, for a total value of $15,467,020.38. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at $45,615,190.20. The trade was a 25.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Timothy D. Cook sold 191,753 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total transaction of $63,846,078.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,264,168 shares in the company, valued at $1,086,837,377.28. The trade was a 5.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 279,383 shares of company stock worth $92,912,517. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Citic Securities upped their price objective on Apple from $300.00 to $349.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and set a $366.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Arete Research upped their price target on shares of Apple from $305.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Apple from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $340.39. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on AAPL

Key Headlines Impacting Apple Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

Positive Sentiment: Apple’s $299 HomeView smart-home hub, along with new cameras, a doorbell, smart lock, thermostat and updated Apple TV and HomePod products, gives the company new hardware and ecosystem expansion opportunities. Analysts also see potential for recurring iCloud+ and other Services revenue. Apple releases HomeView smart home hub with screen as showcase for Siri AI Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly plans to launch Apple Intelligence in mainland China in December, potentially improving access to AI features in a strategically important market. Apple to Release AI Platform in Mainland China Positive Sentiment: Apple benefited from news that GlobalFoundries will build two New York fabs with up to $21 billion in U.S.-Japan funding. Apple is expected to source chips from the expanded domestic capacity, supporting supply-chain diversification. GlobalFoundries Secures $21B for New York Fabs Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism was reinforced by Apple’s market value reclaiming the $5 trillion milestone, while analyst Dan Ives suggested a stronger AI strategy could support a $400 price target. Apple reaches new highs ahead of iPhone Duo preorders Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s iPhone Duo preorders begin October 16. Strong demand could provide a near-term catalyst, but reports of shorter iPhone 18 Pro delivery windows and reduced supplier production have raised questions about demand. Neutral Sentiment: Analysts estimate that a paid, more capable Siri could eventually generate substantial Services revenue, but Apple has not announced pricing or a launch date for expanded AI access. Negative Sentiment: OpenAI alleges that a former employee who joined Apple transferred more than 100 confidential files concerning an unreleased device. The case could create legal, reputational and product-development risks, although there is no indication Apple used the information. OpenAI alleges former employee took device files to Apple Negative Sentiment: Gene Munster warned Apple could lose the AI platform battle if users become loyal to rival assistants such as Meta’s Muse or Grok. Critics also questioned whether HomeView meaningfully addresses Apple’s AI shortcomings. Negative Sentiment: With Apple trading near record levels at a rich valuation, investors are concerned that slower growth, margin pressure and uncertain iPhone demand may limit further upside. Apple Stock Performance AAPL opened at $342.96 on Thursday. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.42 and a 12-month high of $348.15. The stock has a market cap of $5.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.33, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $324.64 and a 200-day moving average of $305.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.39%.

About Apple (Free Report)

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and software platforms, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and visionOS.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.

Read More Five stocks we like better than Apple Tesla Wants to Make Its Own Chips—What Could Go Wrong? IREN Limited’s AI Pivot Gains Traction—But Can Its Data Centers Deliver? PBF Energy’s Stunning Rally Faces a Critical Test Citi Stock Falls Despite Earnings Beat: What Investors Need to Know Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report).

Receive News & Ratings for Apple Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Apple and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Nautilus Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report) by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 24,239 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 2,388 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 5.1% of Nautilus Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Nautilus Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $8,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Apple by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 630,662,494 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $182,897,769,000 after buying an additional 28,321,085 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the second quarter worth approximately $65,950,297,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,986,090,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,443,242,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Apple by 23.2% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 73,082,616 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $18,547,637,000 after acquiring an additional 13,780,080 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple News Summary Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

Positive Sentiment: Apple’s $299 HomeView smart-home hub, along with new cameras, a doorbell, smart lock, thermostat and updated Apple TV and HomePod products, gives the company new hardware and ecosystem expansion opportunities. Analysts also see potential for recurring iCloud+ and other Services revenue. Apple releases HomeView smart home hub with screen as showcase for Siri AI Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly plans to launch Apple Intelligence in mainland China in December, potentially improving access to AI features in a strategically important market. Apple to Release AI Platform in Mainland China Positive Sentiment: Apple benefited from news that GlobalFoundries will build two New York fabs with up to $21 billion in U.S.-Japan funding. Apple is expected to source chips from the expanded domestic capacity, supporting supply-chain diversification. GlobalFoundries Secures $21B for New York Fabs Positive Sentiment: Investor optimism was reinforced by Apple’s market value reclaiming the $5 trillion milestone, while analyst Dan Ives suggested a stronger AI strategy could support a $400 price target. Apple reaches new highs ahead of iPhone Duo preorders Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s iPhone Duo preorders begin October 16. Strong demand could provide a near-term catalyst, but reports of shorter iPhone 18 Pro delivery windows and reduced supplier production have raised questions about demand. Neutral Sentiment: Analysts estimate that a paid, more capable Siri could eventually generate substantial Services revenue, but Apple has not announced pricing or a launch date for expanded AI access. Negative Sentiment: OpenAI alleges that a former employee who joined Apple transferred more than 100 confidential files concerning an unreleased device. The case could create legal, reputational and product-development risks, although there is no indication Apple used the information. OpenAI alleges former employee took device files to Apple Negative Sentiment: Gene Munster warned Apple could lose the AI platform battle if users become loyal to rival assistants such as Meta’s Muse or Grok. Critics also questioned whether HomeView meaningfully addresses Apple’s AI shortcomings. Negative Sentiment: With Apple trading near record levels at a rich valuation, investors are concerned that slower growth, margin pressure and uncertain iPhone demand may limit further upside. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Morgan Stanley set a $355.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $366.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price target on shares of Apple from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Phillip Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $340.39. View Our Latest Stock Report on Apple

Apple Stock Up 0.5% NASDAQ AAPL opened at $342.96 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $324.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $305.24. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.42 and a 1-year high of $348.15. The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.33, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The company’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple In other news, SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 2,399 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $336.18, for a total value of $806,495.82. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 41,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,116,870.56. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy D. Cook sold 191,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.96, for a total value of $63,846,078.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,264,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,086,837,377.28. This trade represents a 5.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 279,383 shares of company stock valued at $92,912,517 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

About Apple (Free Report)

Apple Inc is a technology company that designs, develops and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and software platforms, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and visionOS.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud.

Read More Five stocks we like better than Apple Tesla Wants to Make Its Own Chips—What Could Go Wrong? IREN Limited’s AI Pivot Gains Traction—But Can Its Data Centers Deliver? PBF Energy’s Stunning Rally Faces a Critical Test Citi Stock Falls Despite Earnings Beat: What Investors Need to Know Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AAPL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Free Report).

Receive News & Ratings for Apple Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Apple and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Apple and NVIDIA now sit within striking distance of each other at the top of the market cap rankings, but the reason one trades near its all-time high while the other lags tells a more complicated story about which giant…

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) closed Wednesday at $342.96, up 0.50%. That left its market value above $5 trillion at a close for the first time, at about $5.01 trillion. Apple rose while the other megacap tech stocks fell, including NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), which dropped 3.16% to $221.30.

NVIDIA is still the most valuable company in the world at $5.343 trillion, about $338 billion ahead of Apple’s $5.005 trillion. If NVIDIA’s value remains at Wednesday’s close, Apple needs a gain of about 6.8% to pass it.

Both companies beat estimates last quarter, but the market values them in opposite ways. Apple is priced on its installed base of devices and the steady services income that base produces. NVIDIA is priced on a capital spending cycle that depends on a handful of very large buyers.

Investors Picked Cash Flow Over the AI Spending Trade Inflation data pushed growth stocks lower, and Apple was the only megacap that finished higher. On the same day, CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) fell amid worries about AI debt, and Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) also sold off.

That selloff bears directly on the NVIDIA case, because its growth depends on customers who keep borrowing to build data centers. After hours, Apple added 0.59% to $345.00 while NVIDIA slipped 1.54% to $217.89. After-hours prices are preliminary, though they point the same way.

iPhone Upgrades Compete With Hyperscaler Budgets Driver Apple NVIDIA Latest quarter revenue $109.42 billion (+16.4%) $96.22 billion (+105.8%) Main engine iPhone, $54.25 billion Data Center, $89.02 billion P/E About 45x About 45x Tim Cook called fiscal Q3 Apple’s “strongest June quarter ever,” with double-digit growth in every geographic segment. Tariff refunds added about $0.11 to EPS, so part of that beat will not repeat.

NVIDIA guided to $108 billion in revenue for fiscal Q3. Jensen Huang said “compute is revenue,” and management expects growth of approximately 70% in fiscal 2028. Management said shortages of memory, power and foundry capacity are what hold growth to that level.

Apple Sits Near Its High While NVIDIA Lags Its Own Apple finished just under its 52-week high of $348.15 and well above its $243.42 low. NVIDIA trades below its $243.37 high even though its revenue more than doubled.

That split suggests the market has already priced in Apple’s iPhone 17 cycle and Siri AI launch. NVIDIA’s price, by contrast, reflects concern about how its customers pay for AI and about $279 billion in supply commitments. NVIDIA is growing much faster, though, and its next earnings report is likely to have the largest effect on the gap.

Why Apple’s Valuation Leaves Less Room Than NVIDIA’s Passing NVIDIA would change a ranking while leaving both companies’ cash flow where it is. On valuation, NVIDIA looks more attractive than Apple at this level. Both stocks trade near 45x earnings. That means investors pay the same multiple for 16.4% growth, helped by tariff refunds, as for 105.8% growth at a 75.0% gross margin.

Apple has more than 2.5 billion active devices, and that durability is valuable. Still, the stock already reflects it, trading within a few dollars of its high.

My view would change if the debt concerns hitting CoreWeave spread to hyperscaler budgets. That would hurt NVIDIA’s orders well before it reached Apple’s upgrade cycle.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Tim Cook unquestionably had a stellar run at the head of Apple (AAPL +0.49%). When he took over the CEO job in August 2011, Apple was already a force -- the iPhone was a hit, the iPad was relatively new, and the customer base was fiercely loyal.

But what Cook did over the next 15 years was remarkable. Apple's annual revenue nearly quadrupled, growing from $108 billion in fiscal 2011 to $416 billion in fiscal 2025. And iPhone sales, which were already enormous when Cook arrived, climbed from roughly $47 billion to nearly $210 billion.

Now John Ternus has taken over as Apple's CEO. And investors have an interesting question to consider: Can he build on Cook's success, or has Apple already experienced its greatest years of growth?

Tim Cook turned Apple into a much bigger business Cook didn't invent the iPhone. But he deserves considerable credit for turning it into one of the most successful consumer products in history. Under his leadership, Apple expanded the iPhone's availability worldwide while introducing new models at different price points. That helped the company reach more customers without abandoning its premium pricing strategy.

Apple also expanded its lucrative services business, which includes the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, and Apple Pay. Those products generate recurring revenue from customers who are already using Apple's devices, and they can be extremely profitable -- and they come without the overhead of developing new hardware product lines.

Former Apple CEO Tim Cook. Image source: Apple.

Apple's services segment generated $30.74 billion in revenue during its fiscal third quarter of 2026 (ending June 27), with a gross margin exceeding 75%.

Cook also used Apple's enormous cash flow to repurchase shares, helping increase earnings per share and rewarding long-term shareholders.

What John Ternus inherited Ternus, who became CEO on Sept. 1, has a different challenge than Cook faced in 2011.

Apple already has more than 2.5 billion active devices worldwide, giving it an enormous customer base for new products and services. But expanding a company generating more than $400 billion in annual revenue isn't nearly as easy as growing a smaller business.

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And Apple has been playing catch-up in artificial intelligence (AI).

The company introduced an upgraded Siri AI assistant earlier this year, hoping to make artificial intelligence a more useful part of its devices. On Oct. 13, Apple unveiled HomeView, a $299 smart home display that uses Siri AI to compete with products from Amazon and Alphabet.

But investors shouldn't expect another fourfold increase in annual revenue simply because Cook accomplished it. Apple's enormous size makes that a much more difficult proposition.

For Ternus, the opportunity isn't necessarily to duplicate Cook's growth. It's about finding new ways to make Apple's massive customer base even more valuable -- and giving shareholders a reason to stay invested for the next chapter.

Apple's HomeView has some features that other smart displays don't. Here's how they work.

Apple is planning to launch Apple Intelligence in mainland China in December. This is a huge market for the company.

Apple (AAPL +0.49%) is one of the most iconic companies in the world. It's also one of the largest, with a market cap of $5 trillion. Its stock has also been a huge winner over the past decade, up more than 1,070% during that stretch. With just under $10,000, you could buy 29 shares of the stock.

The company is best known for its popular iPhone, which makes up roughly half its total sales and around 70% of its product sales. Meanwhile, Macs (computers), iPads (tablets), and wearables (smartwatches, headphones, and other accessories) each make up around 10% of its product revenue.

These products tend to have fairly predictable replacement cycles, which leads to relatively stable sales. Meanwhile, the company's newer, higher-priced foldable iPhone and recent price increases should be a nice revenue growth driver.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

While Apple only holds around 20% of the global smartphone market, it importantly has a strong position among affluent customers. The iPhone has well over 50% share of the U.S. smartphone market and is often seen as more of a luxury item in international markets. This is important because it feeds directly into the company's important services segment.

The great thing about Apple's business is that once someone buys one of its devices, they tend to get locked into the company's ecosystem. The company has built a high-end reputation, and its devices work together seamlessly. Meanwhile, switching becomes more difficult the more apps and subscriptions you buy and photos you take.

This all leads to high retention, which in turn feeds into Apple's high-gross-margin services business. The company makes money here through things like cloud storage and the sales of apps and subscriptions on its devices. It also gets a 36% share of the revenue from Google searches on its devices through an agreement with Alphabet. Finally, it generates revenue by taking a small cut from Apple Pay transactions.

Overall, Apple's services segment consistently grows its revenue in the low to mid-teens and has a mid-70% gross margin, significantly higher than its product segment's gross margin of roughly 40%. This leads to its profit growth nicely outpacing its revenue growth.

Where Apple could trade in five years Apple has one of the best compounding businesses on the planet, which benefits long-term investors. However, the one thing working against the stock at the moment is its valuation. Before the pandemic, Apple stock generally traded at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio between 15 and 20, while today its P/E is closer to 40, and its forward P/E is roughly 35.5, based on fiscal 2027 (ending September) analyst estimates.

Analysts currently forecast that the company's adjusted earnings per share (EPS) will rise from $8.83 this fiscal year (ending September 2026) to $15.12 in fiscal 2030. Add another 10% EPS growth the following year, and it would generate adjusted EPS of $16.63 in fiscal 2031.

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Now the question becomes what type of multiple Apple should command. It's a great business, but the stock appears to be ahead of itself following years of multiple expansion. Assign the stock between a 20 times and 30 times forward P/E, and it would trade between $330 and $500. That represents between a 3% decline in the stock and a 47% gain. At the midpoint, the stock could see a 22% gain, and a just-under-$10,000 investment would be worth between $9,570 and $14,500.

Given Apple's multiple expansion over the past several years, it's pretty likely the stock will underperform the market over the next five years. Either it has to sustain its bloated multiple, which is certainly possible, or it needs to greatly outperform expectations, which may not be easy given the size of its business.

As such, this is a growth stock that I'd pass on buying at the moment.

Sam Altman’s OpenAI obtained evidence that a former employee brought more than 100 confidential files about an unreleased device with him upon joining Apple, according to a bombshell filing Wednesday in the trade secret theft case between the two tech giants.

The ChatGPT maker said the alleged theft by an unnamed ex-employee was discovered during a “recent and ongoing forensic investigation” related to the lawsuit. Apple first sued OpenAI and two former employees in July, accusing them of stealing its trade secrets, including “dozens of Apple’s confidential hardware-related files.”

In its filing, OpenAI alleged that its ex-employee “sent over a hundred highly confidential files about at least one unreleased OpenAI device under development to his personal accounts.” The allegedly stolen files included files with “detailed images” and “highly confidential engineering and manufacturing data about the device(s).”

OpenAI, run by CEO Sam Altman, obtained evidence that a former employee brought more than 100 confidential files about an unreleased device with him upon joining Apple, according to a bombshell filing Wednesday. REUTERS
“Some of those files were sent just after midnight in Singapore on June 2, 2026 — the former employee’s final day at OpenAI,” the filing said. “Further, it is OpenAI’s understanding that the former employee made a presentation about OpenAI’s product plans to Apple’s senior leadership, including Apple’s vice president of operations in Asia.”

The employee in question, who previously worked at Apple, joined OpenAI for a period of six months before ultimately returning to Apple, according to the filing. OpenAI claims that the documents aided Apple’s “new push into AI-enabled products” — and specifically referenced this week’s launch of the “Apple Home” line of smart home accessories.

OpenAI said it approached Apple about the incident but has not received “requested assurances” that the company, led by CEO John Ternus, is not in possession of or made use of the documents.

“OpenAI is very concerned that its trade secret and confidential information is now circulating inside Apple, where Apple engineers can shape Apple’s upcoming products based on OpenAI’s confidential and innovative work,” the filing said.

Rached for comment, an Apple spokesperson said the company has strict policies in place to ensure new employees don’t misuse confidential information from their prior employers. Apple found no evidence to support OpenAI’s claim and hasn’t responded to requests for more information, the spokesperson added.

Apple CEO John Ternus opens the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan for the iPhone 18 launch on Sept. 18, 2026. ZUMAPRESS.com
The allegation surfaced on the same day as a key hearing in the case. US District Judge Edward Davila said he was “highly likely” to side with Apple on its request to grant an injunction barring use of its proprietary information by ex-Apple employees who now work for OpenAI, Bloomberg reported.

At the same time, Davila threw cold water on Apple’s push for a forensic inspection of all OpenAI devices and code repositories for stolen trade secrets, describing the request as a “huge ask.”

Apple reportedly responded that it was content to limit the inspection to a handful of employees who left the company for jobs at OpenAI.

OpenAI claims to have found evidence an ex-employee took its trade secrets with him to Apple. ZUMAPRESS.com
Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI identified Chang Liu, a former senior system electrical engineer at Apple, and Tang Yew Tan, a former VP of product design, as the two employees who allegedly took the company’s IP with them on the way out the door.

Liu allegedly failed to return his Apple-issued laptop and used a software bug to access confidential files after he had already left the company.

The lawsuit claimed that Liu “celebrated his improper access, exclaiming in a message left on his colleague’s Apple-issued work laptop ‘LOL’ and that it was ‘so funny.’”

The complaint also accused Tan of “methodically using Apple’s confidential information to benefit OpenAI,” such as by emailing himself information about the company’s suppliers before his exit.

OpenAI has strongly denied the allegations, stating that it has “no interest in other companies’ trade secrets.”

The files included detailed images of an unreleased device, a new legal filing claims.