Apple and other big companies have seen their stocks rise despite banking sector concerns.
Pau Barrena/AFP via Getty ImagesSVB Financial ‘s troubles might have kicked off the latest round of stock market woes, but despite the lender’s ties to Silicon Valley, the tech sector has been remarkably resilient during the selloff.
That’s evident any way you slice it. Over the past five trading days through Thursday’s close, the S&P 500 is basically at break-even, while the Nasdaq Composite has jumped more than 4%. The tech-stock index has climbed nearly 16% year to date, helped by its January rally, compared with just over 3% for the S&P 500.
Sector exchange-traded funds tell the same story. In the past week, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (ticker: XLK) has risen 4.1%, putting it up about 17% for the year.
The biggest tech companies have performed similarly. Shares of poster child Apple (AAPL) have risen 3.8% over the past five days, putting the stock up 25% so far in 2023; Microsoft (MSFT) is up 9.9% and 15.3% over those periods. Likewise Google parent Alphabet ‘s stock (GOOGL) is up 8.8% this week and 12.6% this year.
The tech sector’s gains offer a contrast from the beleaguered financial industry. For instance, the Financial Select Sector SPDR fund (XLF) has slumped 3.5% over the past five days and 6.7% year to date, respectively. Not surprisingly, the SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) has been hit even harder, tumbling 8.5% over the past five days. Before this week, it had been in the black in 2023; now it’s down nearly 16% for this year.
There are a few reasons why tech stocks have thrived despite the downfall of one of the sector’s favorite lenders. Tech still has momentum from earlier this year, and it’s still working off its steep 2022 declines.
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Perhaps most important, however, is that parts of big tech can look pretty defensive—especially relative to shakier regional banks or cash-hungry start-ups that are still chasing profitability. That may sound counterintuitive given the sector’s reputation for growth, but if you’re looking for the security of cash, big tech has it in spades.
Apple is famous for its fortresslike balance sheet, backed up with a hoard of cash so big that it has actually been called problematic (a problem we’d all like to have). At the end of its fiscal 2022 year in September, free cash flow had swelled almost 20% year over year to $111.44 billion.
Likewise, when Microsoft’s fiscal year closed at the end of June, the company had $65 billion in free cash flow on its books. Alphabet ended 2022 with $60 billion in free cash flow, roughly double the level it held at end of 2019.
Certainly those companies aren’t immune to the broader economic environment: In a recession, fewer people might upgrade their iPhones or invest in a new tech equipment or services. Nonetheless, few analysts doubt these firms’ long-term dominance and resilience. Big tech’s piles of cash also mean these companies don’t have to depend on lenders like Silicon Valley Bank or venture capitalists—unlike startups—nor do they need to raise capital when interest rates are still high.
For investors on the hunt for a pot of gold this St. Patrick’s Day, big tech could be the place to look.
Write to Teresa Rivas at teresa.rivas@barrons.com
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