Given the ongoing market troubles – troubles that have hurt the FAANG stocks in particular – the iPhone purveyor can be pretty pleased with itself. Rising from an opening price of $169.53, the Apple share price hit a fresh all-time peak of $233.47 at the start of October as it climbed in tandem with the Dow Jones.
And even though it has dipped since then, compared to its peers the tech giant has come out of the recent wobble relatively unscathed, with Apple Inc at a current trading price of $219.22
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The firm posted its latest update at the end of July, as it reported its Q2 results. There, Apple smashed earnings expectations with a 40% surge, leaving it at $2.34 per share against the $2.18 forecast. Revenue, meanwhile, soared 17% to $53.3 billion, exceeding the $52.34 billion estimated.
It wasn’t all perfect; iPhone sales were effectively flat year-on-year to 41.3 million, a smidge lower than the 41.79 sought by analysts. Yet with the average selling price jumping to $724 – thanks to the pricey $999 iPhone X – the company could still post that sizeable rise in revenue.
In terms of the Q4 figures, there is concern – highlighted by Goldman Sachs analyst Rod Hall – that slowing consumer demand in China could impact Apple’s ability to beat estimates and raise its guidance on Thursday. Nevertheless, revenues are expected to rise 16.7% to an eye-watering $61.36 billion, with a 33.8% jump in earnings to $2.77 per share.
Apple Inc has a consensus rating of ‘Hold’ alongside an average target price of $226.76.
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