12 Best Stocks to Buy in 2025 for Beginners

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3. Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

10-year Revenue CAGR: 7.90%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 158

Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) designs, manufactures, and sells smartphones, personal computers, wearables, accessories, and other related products and services. Its operations span across the globe. The company’s stock has gained considerable value over the past few years, with its stock price up 262% over the last five years.

The company is experiencing some turbulence, especially due to its position in China. According to Reuters, Apple, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) annual shipments declined by 17% in China in fiscal year 2024, with a 25% decline in fiscal Q4 2024 alone. The company now has a 15% market share in China. Despite this setback, Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is growing its earnings, primarily due to strength in its services segment. It posted a revenue of $94.9 billion in fiscal Q4 2024, reflecting a 6% increase compared to last year’s quarter. Analysts expect 2025 to be a robust year for the company, with a 6% forecasted growth rate.

Furthermore, with more than 2.2 billion Apple devices worldwide, Apple, Inc., (NASDAQ:AAPL) has an expansive platform for AI services. It is set to reveal several of its new Apple Intelligence features in fiscal 2025 and may explore AI-driven subscription services, which could translate to further revenue potential for the company.

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)

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