We recently published a list of 15 Important AI News and Ratings on Investors’ Radar. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stands against other important AI news and ratings on investors’ radar.
On Monday, the US government revealed that it would further restrict artificial intelligence chip and technology exports. As reported by Reuters, the goal behind these restrictions is to help the US advance its computing power and AI technology, while finding more ways to block China’s access. Under the new regulations, the number of AI chips exported to most countries will be capped, allowing unlimited access to U.S. AI technology for America’s closest allies. Meanwhile, a block shall be maintained on exports to China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
“The U.S. leads AI now – both AI development and AI chip design, and it’s critical that we keep it that way”.
-Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.
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These regulations are seemingly the last efforts by the Biden administration to maintain US leadership in AI and close any loopholes in controlling the flow of AI chips. The new administration, set to take office on January 20, shares similar views on the competitive threat from China. However, President-elect Donald Trump is expected to make significant changes to the Biden administration’s stance on artificial intelligence.
“We will repeal Joe Biden’s dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI innovation, and imposes radical leftwing ideas on the development of this technology. In its place, Republicans support AI development rooted in free speech and human flourishing”.
-A manifesto from the Republican Party platform
With only a few days left until Trump takes office, the recently revealed restrictions on AI chips have been imposed on advanced graphics processing units (GPUs), which are used to power data centers needed to train AI models. Moreover, under the new rules, cloud providers will be able to build data centers by applying for global approval. Once approved, they won’t need export licenses for AI chips which will allow them to build data centers in countries that cannot import enough chips because of the U.S.-imposed quotas. However, these authorized companies must abide by stringent conditions and restrictions, such as security requirements, reporting demands, and a plan or track record of respecting human rights.
Currently, the recent regulation divides the world into three tiers. 18 countries, including Japan, Britain, South Korea, and the Netherlands, will essentially be exempt from the rules. Moreover, 120 other countries, including Singapore, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, will face country caps, whereas arms-embargoed countries like Russia, China, and Iran will not be allowed to receive the technology altogether.
“How effective the rule ends up being in the next 10 to 15 years is now up to the incoming team. They are well aware that ensuring a dominant domestic industry is a core element of competition with China”.
– Meghan Harris, a national security official during the first Trump administration.
For this article, we selected AI stocks by going through news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. These stocks are also popular among hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A wide view of an Apple store, showing the range of products the company offers.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 158
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a technology company. Recently, the company has had underwhelming upgrades and competitors that have led the iPhone maker to lose market share in the final quarter of 2024. Bloomberg cited research by Counterpoint Research data, stating how the iPhone’s market share slipped a point to 18% worldwide in 2024. As per the research, the company marked a 2% sales decline for the full year, while the wider market grew 4% globally.
On the other hand, Android device makers from China, led by Xiaomi Corp. and Vivo, have been gaining strength in the region. Since Apple’s new artificial intelligence suite isn’t available in China, the lack of AI availability has hindered its performance in the region. The company is currently striving to partner up with local players to provide features such as AI writing assistance and image generation. Nevertheless, Apple’s AI hasn’t been all the rage, either.
“Apple’s iPhone 16 series was met with a mixed response, partly due to a lack of availability of Apple Intelligence at launch. However, Apple continued to grow strongly in its noncore markets like Latin America”.
– Counterpoint director Tarun Pathak.
Overall, AAPL ranks 2nd on our list of important AI news and ratings on investors’ radar. While we acknowledge the potential of AAPL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AAPL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.