If I were to pick a stock for a Christmas gift, I would recommend $Apple(AAPL)$ .

Like many in the tech sector, Apple has been affected by the more challenging macroeconomic environment in 2022. Year-to-date, investors have seen a negative total return of 24% from Apple’s stock, amid concerns about lingering supply chain disruptions and the growing risk of a hard landing for the economy in the coming year.

Supply challenges caused by Covid-19 related disruptions and an industry-wide semiconductor shortage continued to impact Apple's ability to meet customer demand for its products in 2022.

In an effort to improve supply chain resilience, Apple has been diversifying its supply chain beyond China. With more production shifting to India and Vietnam and increased procurement from the US, Taiwan and elsewhere, the company will in future be better protected from localized manufacturing risks, as well as trade and geopolitical tensions.

Apple generated a gross margin of 71.7% from services in 2022, compared to 36.3% for device products. Looking ahead, recent price increases on Apple Music, TV+ and its One bundle will likely drive revenue growth and further margin improvement in coming quarters.

Apple’s gross margin has increased by 150 basis points over the past year, to 43.3%. This reflected stronger margins for both products and services, as well as a favorable shift in the revenue mix towards higher margin services.

Widening margins benefit Apple’s bottom line as it enables earnings growth to outpace revenue growth. This combined with the benefit of stock buybacks, which reduces Apple’s share count and further raises its earnings per share.

As of December 2022, Apple has a market cap of $2.1 Trillion. This makes Apple the world's most valuable company by market cap. It has an exceptionally loyal customer base. Within the US, Apple’s iPhone accounts for more than half of all market share.

Apple is also Berkshire’s largest stock holding, making up roughly 40% of an equities portfolio.

Apple’s share price might continue to decline in the short term due to the market weakness. I still think Apple will continue to be the safest choice under down market.

source：Seeking Alpha