Nvidia stock may be getting all of the attention of late, but there are plenty of others outperforming the broader market. One is another member of the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks: Apple.
An investment of $1,000 in Apple in June 2014 would be worth over $10,460 at Tuesday’s closing price of about $209, according to calculations from Morningstar Direct. That’s cumulative growth of over 946%, and an annualized return of 26.46%. (Shares on Thursday were mostly flat, trading around $214 at 3 p.m. ET.)
That’s not quite the explosive growth Nvidia has experienced in recent months, but it still far outpaces the S&P 500 over the same time period. And if you were lucky enough to get in at AAPL’s inception at the end of 1980, that $1,000 investment would be worth over $2.1 million today, with an annualized return of 19.22%.
Apple is one of seven stocks—in addition to Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Nvidia, and Tesla—that drove the stock market to new heights in 2023 and into 2024. That said, it’s been one of the weaker performers of the group in recent months, with earnings rising just 1% in the latest quarter and sales declining.
'Significant innovation'
Still, Bank of America rates Apple a buy, writing in a research note published this week that the company’s recent introduction of AI capabilities, called Apple Intelligence, and announcement that it will give third-party developers access to more AI features “should drive significant innovation from developers.”
“We view conversational AI with context and privacy as key to monetization of the installed base of Apple devices over time with increased productivity, higher priced apps, increased subscription and payments from partners,” BofA’s Wamsi Mohan writes in the report.
Mohan also points to a likely increase in consumers upgrading their iPhones in the coming years—to have access to new AI features under development—and Apple’s ability to expand its services and other offerings as reasons to invest. In a best-case scenario, existing customers will race to upgrade their phones and iPads to get access to the AI, and those loyal to other operating systems may make the switch.
On the downside, softening consumer spending in general could impact the company, possibly leading to weak iPhone 15 sales—and longer iPhone replacement cycles generally. Customers may also simply not be interested in the Apple Intelligence features, and demand could turn tepid after initial interest wanes. Mohan also points to two antitrust cases in the U.S. Currently ongoing that could negatively impact the company, among other concerns.
Also at play: Because the S&P 500 is weighted by market cap, the movements of companies like Apple and the rest of the Magnificent Seven—either up or down—can have an outsize impact. That's led some analysts and financial advisors to caution that the tech giants could be a bit overvalued, which may affect retail investors who are pouring more and more money into index funds.