Apple's Stock is Beating the S&P 500 by a Remarkable Degree - and it May Have More Room to Run-To The Moon - Tiger Brokers Online Investing Community

Apple's Stock is Beating the S&P 500 by a Remarkable Degree - and it May Have More Room to Run

Dow Jones07-17 22:58

Apple was once seen as behind the curve in AI, but now it's getting more respect for its strategic choices

HSBC analyst Nicolas Cote-Colisson upgraded Apple shares on Friday.

Apple's stock has been crushing the market to a degree not seen in six years, and it just won over a new fan.

HSBC analyst Nicolas Cote-Colisson said more gains are in store for the stock, once viewed as an artificial-intelligence laggard. He has newfound respect for Apple's place in the AI ecosystem.

Cote-Colisson upgraded shares of Apple $(AAPL)$ to buy from hold and raised his price target to $366 from $260 on Friday, saying that Apple's "strong product pipeline" and AI capabilities will improve revenue growth in the company's hardware segment. His price target implies 10% upside potential.

He said that Apple has been able to "stay away from the (too) high capex debate," given its relatively low level of capital-expenditure investment, which he points out is 2.5% of estimated sales. That compares with 39% for the hyperscalers, he noted. Meanwhile, Apple can leverage its 2.5 billion active devices when ramping Apple Intelligence.

"This AI boost comes at the right moment, when we think Apple has one of its most innovative product pipelines in place," he said.

Apple's reach is permeating into the rest of the AI supply chain. In a Thursday note, BNP Paribas analyst Karl Ackerman pointed out that Apple's suppliers' revenue is well above the growth expected this time of year. He attributes that to strong consumer demand for "premier-tier" handsets and the possibility of price increases.

See also: Alphabet's stock falls as Gemini delays suggest Google is struggling to keep up in the AI race

Shares of Apple are about flat in Friday trading. Over the last 15 trading days, the stock is up 19.98%, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.91%. That puts it on track for its largest 15-day outperformance since Aug. 20, 2020, when it trounced the index by 18.67 percentage points, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

-Hannah Pedone

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 17, 2026 10:58 ET (14:58 GMT)

At the request of the copyright holder, you need to log in to view this content

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

Apple's Stock is Beating the S&P 500 by a Remarkable Degree - and it May Have More Room to Run

At the request of the copyright holder, you need to log in to view this content

Comments