Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), the most valuable technology company in the world, just keeps on growing. Apple stock now boasts a $950 billion market cap after booking nearly 30% gains over the past year — more than double the gains of the broader market and 9% better than the Nasdaq Composite.
For perspective, that market cap is over $100 billion more than Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL, NASDAQ:GOOG), and $400 billion more than Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB). If the trend continues, Apple Inc. will become the first American company to hit the trillion-dollar mark.
There’s good reason to expect that will happen in the not-too-distant future. Despite Apple’s size and gains, the stock is hardly frothy. Looking forward, around 14% earnings growth per year is on tap over the next half-decade — right in line with the company’s forward price-earnings even after the last year’s steady gains.
Even better, Apple has around the same amount of expansion estimated for the top line in 2018.
This week at its annual developer’s conference, Apple announced iOS 12, which will include keyboards and cameras that respond more quickly to commands. It also flaunted augmented reality technology that will measure real-world dimensions digitally, U.S. News & World Report wrote.
There are also rumors floating around that Apple could lower the price of this year’s iPhone X, the company’s best-selling model yet, which could draw in even more consumers.
Plus, it added a few features that limit screen time. While such developments may sound counterintuitive, Apple, with lots of hardware to sell, is less tied to the attention economy than a company like Facebook serving users ads. If less time on your phone will actually make you like your phone more — and possibly buy the next model — that’s good news for Apple.
This is especially true since the tech industry more broadly has been under fire for the impact its products have on people’s lives. Any feature that suggests awareness about the issue is a good PR move.
As if the company’s general scope and dominance aren’t enough, Apple has also been using its impressive cash pile to reward investors via stock buybacks and a quarterly dividend, that now tallies a total yield of 1.6%.
As of Wednesday, shares of Apple stock were worth more than $193 each—an all-time high for the company. Warren Buffett is bullish, recently upping his stake by 75 million shares, making AAPL one of his largest holdings. Buffett thinks Apple will hit not just $1 trillion, but $2 trillion, according to reports.
The trillion-dollar mark would be a big milestone for Apple stock, but it’s hardly a ceiling or finish line. Tim Cook & Co. know how to steer the large ship that is Apple, keeping investors and users alike happy. Right now, the proof is in the pudding.
As of this writing, Robert Martin was long Apple stock.
