Yahoo Finance 'Lackluster' iPhone 15 sales lead to downgrade and Apple losing $1 billion in market value in 1 day — as analyst predicts more of the same for iPhone 16
A question for Apple fans: How much does Tim Long earn a year? While you won’t find the Barclays analyst’s salary in a Google search, one could argue that Long’s note to investors on Jan. 2 came with a $100 billion price tag.
Don't miss
Commercial real estate has outperformed the S&P 500 over 25 years. Here's how to diversify your portfolio without the headache of being a landlord
Rich young Americans have lost confidence in the stock market — and are betting on these 3 assets instead. Get in now for strong long-term tailwinds
Take control of your finances in 2024: 5 money moves to start the new year off strong
That’s how much one of the world’s largest companies shed in value after he and the bank downgraded Apple stock to a “sell” and set a price target of $160 per share.
The reason? “Lackluster” sales of the iPhone 15 and the belief that the upcoming iPhone 16 might see more of the same, according to news outlets citing the note.
“We see no features or upgrades that are likely to make the iPhone 16 more compelling,” the note contends.
Reading tea leaves
The fact is — and “fact” arguably excludes a $100 billion opinion based on a phone no one has seen — Long remains something of an outlier among his peers.
According to a Wall Street Journal roundup of Apple stock, as of Jan. 15, 20 analysts rate it a “buy” compared to the three who rate it a “sell,” a ratio of nearly seven to one. What’s more, Apple has met or exceeded analyst expectations for at least four consecutive quarters.
In investment parlance, Apple remains “overweight.” That means when you factor in the opinions of the 44 total analysts surveyed by the Journal and average them, the conclusion is that Apple stock should perform better in the future — not worse.
Read more: Millions of Americans are in massive debt in the face of rising rates. Here's how to take a break from debt this month
But just as motorists love to rubberneck a wreck on the highway, the media loves a good headline. When Apple’s worth dropped $100 billion, it made for one astronomical number — and a sexy one. (Try comparing that to 20 analysts who still love the stock.)
The worrywarts may also ignore another meaningful number: Apple’s 52-week low dating to mid-January 2023. That was around $130 per share, meaning the stock remains roughly 38% higher than that low-water mark. What’s more, Long’s pessimistic target price of $160 is still about 19% above that price.
The point is that no matter how good an analyst Long or his colleagues may be — and he ranks in the top 3% of more than 8,000 Wall Street analysts, according to TipRanks — many different ways exist to weigh a company’s numbers and thus tell many contrasting stories.
Long and short of it
As for Long’s speculating on the next iPhone’s feature set and how consumers will react? That’s an educated guess at best. Only the company itself has any idea what the next product might feature.
One last figure: $2.87 trillion. That’s how much the Journal says Apple is worth, or what Wall Street calls its “market capitalization.” And while Apple shed, as the Journal’s numbers indicate, approximately the combined worth of auto giants Ford and GM, that’s a compact car on a mammoth lot as Apple’s fortunes go — $100 billion amounts to roughly 3-4% of the tech giant’s value.
So take heart, worried investors. The overriding lesson, pun intended, is that investment is a long game, not a short headline. You want long? If Apple CEO Tim Cook decided to give away $100 million of Apple’s value per day, it would still take him more than 78 years to do it.
What to read next
This Pennsylvania trio bought a $100K abandoned school and turned it into a 31-unit apartment building — how to invest in real estate without all the heavy lifting
Jeff Bezos and Oprah Winfrey invest in this asset to keep their wealth safe — you may want to do the same in 2024
The US dollar has lost 87% of its purchasing power since 1971: Learn how to diversify your portfolio by investing in the world’s most popular precious metal
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
