Apple Set to Become First $4 Trillion Company

Apple is about to become the first company in history to be worth more than $4 trillion. wealth Report.

Apple (AAPL) shares are up nearly 40% in 2024. The growth is said to be largely driven by the optimism surrounding Apple information and its continued strength iPhone Upgrade cycle.

Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said in a research report released on December 26 that Apple is entering a “golden age of growth” and its artificial intelligence initiatives are a key driver. Ives raised his price target on Apple stock to $325, citing the company’s efforts to embed artificial intelligence into its products. He emphasized that Apple’s current artificial intelligence strategy may be underestimated by the market, adding that the development of hundreds of applications under the Apple Intelligence platform will provide “another growth catalyst and catalyze a comprehensive upgrade of the iPhone in the next 12 to 18 months.” ”.

We believe Apple is entering a multi-year iPhone upgrade cycle driven by artificial intelligence, but Wall Street still underestimates this cycle. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was Apple’s artificial intelligence strategy, but the seeds of Apple’s intelligence strategy are taking shape and will change the growth narrative for Apple consumers in the coming years.

We estimate that the hundreds of apps developed around Apple Intelligence essentially create a new multi-billion dollar annual services revenue stream, which will serve as another growth catalyst while facilitating a full range of iPhone upgrades over the next 12 to 18 months. . We believe Apple is expected to reach the $4 trillion market capitalization threshold and become the first member of this exclusive club.

JP Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee also predicts that Apple will continue to grow, thanks to its ability to expand the number of device installations. By 2023, the number of active devices worldwide will exceed 2 billion. The product lineup is a key factor in its success. He also emphasized Apple’s emphasis on capital allocation, as the company continues to return value to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks, which have totaled hundreds of billions of dollars in recent years.

In terms of market capitalization, Apple’s closest competitors Microsoft and Nvidia have also benefited from advances in artificial intelligence, but their valuations are US$3.26 trillion and US$3.43 trillion respectively, lagging behind Apple. Both companies have invested heavily in their own AI platforms, with Nvidia’s GPU technology playing a central role in supporting generative AI applications. However, Apple’s long-term advantage appears to be its ability to control both hardware and software, which may enable it to deliver a superior user experience across the entire ecosystem.