2. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 158
Over the years, its strong Services business segment has grown to include Apple Wallet and Apple Pay, which allow consumers to manage payments from their iPhones.
By concentrating on a high-end, intricately linked ecosystem of goods, services, and software, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has strengthened its long-term dominance in the consumer electronics sector. This ecosystem revolves around Apple’s flagship iPhone, which generates 46% of the company’s net sales. Giving it pricing power, switching costs, and network effects as a result. Retaining consumers inside this walled garden maximizes the benefits of all other Apple services and products. This approach gives the company room to flourish and sets it apart.
For the September quarter in Q4 of 2024, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported record revenue of $94.9 billion, up 6% year over year. This was driven by strong iPhone revenue of $46.2 billion, which climbed 6% and set a record for the September quarter across all geographic areas. Over 1 billion paid memberships throughout the firm’s ecosystem contributed to a double-digit increase in services revenue, which hit a record high of $25 billion, up 12% year over year. The Apple Intelligence system, iPhone 16, Mac with M4 chips, new iPads, and improvements for the Apple Watch and AirPods were among the advances the company introduced. Furthermore, Apple broke revenue records in emerging markets, with the September quarter seeing an all-time high in India.
In terms of the environment, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) made progress toward its goal of becoming carbon-neutral throughout its whole footprint by 2030 by launching the first-ever carbon-neutral Mac and a carbon-neutral Apple Watch option. These accomplishments highlight the company’s robust innovation, growth, and sustainability leadership.
CDT Capital Management stated the following regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“The crowd. While this evolution in AI is going to change the world, market expectations for the technology have become unhinged. The crowd, which is more like an exuberant mob, anointed the Mag 7 with spectacular, nonsensical valuations based on the premise that AI will be an amazing, money-printing growth engine for these companies – and the truth is it likely will be. The problem is that the math just isn’t mathing.
Let me explain what I mean by picking on the world’s most valuable stock, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). For background, Apple does not have a robust homegrown AI platform, nor does it have a plan to meaningfully monetize AI from Apple users. Right now, from our perspective, Apple’s, Apple Intelligence strategy of implementing third-party AI tools to stay competitive will likely be more of a cost of doing business than an avenue for sales and yet in 2024, the stock soared +33% based on the AI dream as exemplified by the quote below.
“A golden era of growth for Cupertino is now on the horizon into 2025.”..” (Click here to read the full text)
