Why Apple May Get The "Last Laugh" In AI As Rivals Double Down On Spending Craze
It will have more free cash flow at its disposal and can 'pawn off' spending by leveraging other companies' technologies, analyst notes. Most big technology companies indicated this earnings season that their capital spending on artificial-intelligence data centers is continuing unabated. That makes Apple Inc. stand out even more for how much it's not spending.Investors once worried that Apple was behind the pack in AI because it wasn't spending as much as its rivals. But now Apple's strategy might have more shine, at least according to one analyst.Currently, Apple's free cash flow is expected to run higher than its net income, unlike at other tech giants. Reitzes pointed out that in fiscal 2024, Apple generated $109 billion in free cash flow, above its net income of $104 billion, converting free cash flow at a rate of nearly 5% to reported net income. Apple was able to buy back $26.5 billion in stock in the December quarter and is on track to buy back $30 billion pe