Apple had a strong year on the stock market, with its company value rising by about 40 percent. Although the company temporarily lost its crown as the most valuable company in the US markets to Microsoft and Nvidia, it ended the year at the top with a value of 3.79 trillion US dollars. The question now is whether this will continue. Some stock analysts believe that Apple shares on the New York technology exchange NASDAQ have further potential to rise, possibly becoming the first to reach a market cap of 4 trillion dollars. The reason is the potentially untapped AI potential, especially with the iPhone.
Daniel Ives, an analyst known as an “Apple Bull” at investment firm Wedbush Securities, wrote in a report to investors before the end of the year that the iPhone 16 cycle is just “the beginning of a new era for Cupertino.” He raised his price target from 300 dollars to 325 dollars. For context, the stock is currently around 250 dollars. He sees a “golden growth era for 2025 on the horizon.” Apple is facing a “multi-year, AI-driven iPhone upgrade cycle that Wall Street has underestimated.”
However, the iPhone 16 is expected to sell at the same level as the iPhone 15. In September, some analysts even predicted lower demand. One issue was that Apple Intelligence is currently only available in certain markets, and its functionality is rated as below average. The features are still in beta and sometimes even have errors. Ives does not see these problems. Apple’s cautious approach to AI is expected to pay off.
The slow strategy is expected to pay off. “Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the same is true for Apple’s AI strategy.” We currently see the “seeds” that will shape Apple’s “end-customer growth narrative” in the coming years. Wedbush Securities expects “hundreds of apps around Apple Intelligence” that could offer great potential for Apple in the fast-growing services business.
Ives anticipates an upgrade wave in the next 12 to 18 months. “We believe that Apple will surpass the 4 trillion dollar market capitalization threshold and become the first member of this exclusive club,” said the Wedbush analyst. Other analysts, like Samik Chatterjee from JPMorgan, also see growth potential for Apple, especially with the iPhone 17, which is expected to be released in the fall.