Apple Reclaims Its Throne: Stock Surge Propels It Back to Global Leadership: Apple’s stock value has surged significantly over the past few days,
reclaiming its title as the highest-valued company from Microsoft.
This rise reflects improved investor sentiment regarding Apple’s growth and its position in artificial intelligence.
Content
Apple Stock Performance
The AI Race
Recent Performance of Apple Stock
Apple’s AI Capabilities
Impact of Recent Positives
Apple Stock Performance
Apple’s stock recorded an 11% increase over three sessions, adding $323.9 billion to its market value.
This surge has been the strongest since August 2020 and has led to the company closing
with a market capitalization of $3.285 trillion, compared to Microsoft’s $3.282 trillion.
This achievement marks the first time since January that Apple has closed with a higher market value than Microsoft,
representing the latest shift among the largest stocks on Wall Street.
Earlier this week, Apple was third behind Nvidia.
The AI Race
Rees Williams, Chief Strategist at Wayve Capital Management,
highlighted a strong conviction that both Apple and Microsoft will be winners in artificial intelligence.
He noted that this market could generate substantial profits for the victors,
predicting that Apple and Microsoft will compete significantly soon, with Nvidia also entering.
Recent Performance of Apple Stock
Apple’s stock rose by 0.6% on Thursday, continuing its upward trend for the third consecutive session.
On Tuesday, it recorded the largest one-day increase since November 2022.
This 11% rise over three sessions boosted the company’s market value by $323.9 billion,
which is larger than all but a few components of the S&P 500 index. On the other hand, Microsoft’s stock increased by 0.1% on Thursday.
Apple’s AI Capabilities
The catalyst for Apple’s stock rise was a presentation at the Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday,
which focused on artificial intelligence.
This presentation raised hopes that customers would pay for the next generation of iPhones,
potentially spurring the long-awaited growth revival.
Apple’s revenue declined by 4.3% in the second fiscal quarter, marking the fifth decline in the past six quarters.
Wamsi Mohan, an analyst at Bank of America, wrote that AI capabilities will likely drive a multi-year upgrade cycle of faster replacements,
more switching, and higher average selling prices.
He suggested that Apple Intelligence could lead to a major upgrade cycle, noting that consensus estimates are very low.
Impact of Recent Positives
The AI event followed a positive quarterly report in early May
when Apple also announced a $110 billion share buyback plan,
the largest repurchase program in U.S. history. Despite recent strength,
growth concerns have limited Apple’s gains compared to other major tech companies.
Thursday’s stock rise pushed Apple’s year-to-date gains to 11%, which is less than the Nasdaq 100 index’s 16% gain.
Stocks with greater AI capabilities, including Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta,
have all outperformed Apple this year, while Nvidia’s stock has soared more than 160%.
Apple Reclaims Its Throne: Stock Surge Propels It Back to Global Leadership