Apple May Be World s First Trillion Dollar Company
Post on: 16 Март, 2015 No Comment
Image via CrunchBase
Let the countdown begin: Analysts are now saying saying that Apple shares could reach $1,000 within the next two years — up from about $630 today — as it continues to win over mobile buyers with the iPhone and iPad.
Yesterday, Brian White at Topeka Capital Markets, arguing that Apple’s shares are undervalued relative to the company’s earnings potential, put a $1,001 12-month price target on Apple’s shares on continued demand for its mobile devices, expansion into China and the possible release of an interactive television. Katy Huberty, of Morgan Stanley, told me yesterday the $1,000 price target is “realistic,” with her enthusiasm based in large part on Apple’s opportunity to expand in China where sales went from almost nothing to $12 billion in two years.
Today, Gene Munster, of Piper Jaffray, said the discussion about a $1,000 share price (or more) is “nothing new to the Apple story” and said Apple is on track to become the first public company to have a trillion dollar market capitalization. That would top the current record for a publicly traded company — the $619 billion in value reached at one point by Microsoft.
Sound farfetched? Munster looks at the math and says that Apple’s market cap as of yesterday was about $573 billion, and that the company added $400 billion of that value from the beginning of 2008 — or in about four years. Half of those gains came from investor enthusiasm in tech in general, with the other half coming from dollars that were shifted from competitors into Apple. He says that since the beginning of 2008, six of Apple’s largest competitors — RIMM, Nokia, Dell, H-P, Microsoft and Sony — have lost $400 billion in market cap and he assumes half of that went to Apple.
He also predicts that trend will continue, helping to drive Apple’s value toward that 1 trillion dollar mark. This is what Munster has to say about excessive investor exuberance, Apple’s “low” valuation and the law of large numbers:
We believe shares of Apple will reach $1,000 in calendar year 2014, which would imply a roughly 1 trillion dollar market cap, the first in history. While some investors believe the biggest issue for Apple to get to $1,000 is the market cap along with excessive investor exuberance, we believe the real story is earnings growth. Fundamentally, we believe shares can reach $1,000 based on our belief Apple will continue to win in global mobile devices.
Despite the law of large numbers, we believe the opportunity in mobile devices (iPhone and iPad) are big enough for Apple to grow earnings by 20% plus over the next three years, while our price target is based on a 12x earnings multiple. The bottom line, while it seems virtually every investor (professional and retail) and analyst has something positive to say about Apple, the multiple on shares does not suggest there is excessive investor exuberance.
Of course, there’s always a chance Apple might blow it — that the expected new iPhone 5 might be a dud or that Apple won’t deliver rumored lower-priced iPhones or an interactive TV. Or that Apple CEO Tim Cook, who journeyed to China last week to meet with government officials and others, won’t ink an iPhone deal with China Mobile to expand its base in what Cook has described as the fastest growing market in the world. Or maybe the iPad won’t continue to sell like gangbusters and maintain its market lead in tablets.
Here’s Munster one more time:
The key risk to the Apple story is pace of innovation. While we have not seen anything to make us believe innovation will slow, it is the fundamental barrier that stands between shares at $600 and at $1,000. Apple has won the ecosystem and interface war, and must continue to innovate around its leadership position to grow the business. Going forward, consumer interest in owning future Apple products is a key metric to measuring Apple’s pace of innovation.
Does anyone believe that Apple won’t continue to dominate in mobile devices? Apple certainly has the analyst community in their corner, with 47 of the 54 analysts who follow the Cupertino, California company having either a “strong buy” or “buy” rating on the shares.
Apple shares were up $12.27 to $630.90 at 11:20 a.m. New York time in regular Nasdaq trading.