Cupertino claimed the title of world’s most valuable company earlier this year, but according to some bullish Wall Street analysts, Apple could soon become the world’s first trillion-dollar company.
In a note to investors today, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White increased his target price for Apple shares to $180, putting his estimations well above other analysts’ expectations. Apple shares’ value will increase 40 percent over the next 12 months, according to White’s report.
While Apple naysayers have pointed to slumping iPad sales and the unclear future of the Apple Watch as signs that Apple is weakening, White gives three key reasons why Apple is poised to break the trillion-dollar barrier.
The reasons? China, cash and new products.
Apple Watch is set to hit stores next month and Apple could sell as many as 20.6 million watches in the first year, says White. Even if the Apple Watch Edition doesn’t sell in the millions, Apple stands to pick up a nice payday from its first timepieces.
One country where the super-expensive gold Apple Watch is expected to do especially well is China. Apple is “better positioned than ever in China,” notes White. Thanks to increasing 4G service coverage, China Mobile is poised to become Apple’s most profitable carrier partner.
Apple is also expected to return more cash to its shareholders. Tim Cook alluded to an announcement regarding the company’s buyback program that could be made during Apple’s earnings call in April. Despite White’s higher-than-average projection, he still trails diehard AAPL lover Carl Icahn, who’s been gobbling up shares by the millions while claiming Apple stock is really worth double its current price.
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
3 responses to “Three reasons Apple will be the world’s first trillion-dollar company”
White is like a little child always craving for attention. He had the same ridiculous claims in 2012 before Apple took a huge nosedive and everyone swore Apple was gone for good. The big shot investors are not going to pay any attention to Brian White. Apple is a company surrounded by skeptics and naysayers who always think Apple is going to fail for some stupid reason. How many times does a company have to prove itself before investors believe it’s the real deal? I’m wiling to bet even if AppleWatch becomes a success, by next year there are going to be those greedy vampires wondering when Apple is going to come out with another hit product and it won’t be soon enough for them. They’ll start their stupid BS all over again about how Apple has lost its innovation and is falling behind the rest of the industry.
Jackals and vultures are never satisfied until they pick the bones completely clean. Apple is doing pretty well right now and yet its P/E is worse than Microsoft’s P/E despite Microsoft barely able to get a foothold in mobile market share. The big investors seem to lack confidence in Apple and Tim Cook yet they think Microsoft’s Windows 10 is going to be some huge money-making hit. Good luck with that.
apple hasn’t even begun to unleash on the home [kit] market yet, but that’s all about to change with the new appleTV coming out for wwdc!
Actually Petro China beat them to the finish…