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Apple stock closed this Monday in positive territory for the year, in the latest sign of improving sentiment towards iPhone maker.
The paper rose 0.9%, in its sixth consecutive positive session, and has now risen 0.8% so far in 2024. Shares rose about 13% during May, their biggest monthly percentage gain since July 2022.
While it continues to lag other mega-cap tech stocks, Apple had previously fallen as much as 14% this yearand the rally has taken Apple back close to US$3 trillion market capitalization threshold (millions of millions), which has not exceeded since January. The Nasdaq 100 index is up almost 11% this year.
AI Potential
Much of the stock’s recent strength came after the Apple’s quarterly report from early May, when it gave an optimistic forecast that eased concerns about its growth and sales trends in China. The company also announced the largest share buyback program in US history at $110 billion.
There is also growing optimism that the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the next iPhone models will prompt users to switch, providing a catalyst for revenue growth. More details on its AI strategy are expected to be provided in the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference on June 10.
“The introduction of AI technology into Apple’s ecosystem will bring ample monetization opportunities on both the services and iPhone/hardware fronts,” wrote Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.
Bloomberg News recently reported that Apple is closing a deal with OpenAI to use ChatGPT features in the new iPhone operating system. The company has also held talks with Alphabet Inc. to integrate Google’s Gemini AI engine into the iPhone.
