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Apple Inc (AAPL) is a US technology giant and the first company on Wall Street to surpass the $1 trillion market capitalisation mark. The corporation designs and manufacturers personal electronic products like smartphones, tablets, desktop computers, wearables, televisions and headphones. The company is also a provider of cloud storage services as well as other well-known services such as the App Store and Apple Music. Apple has recently ventured into the payments space with Apple Pay and the Apple Card.
How to buy shares in Apple
- Compare share trading platforms. To buy shares in a company listed in the US from Australia you'll need to find a trading platform that offers access to US stock markets. Look for a platform with low brokerage and foreign exchange fees.
- Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, which will typically include your ID and tax file number. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
- Search for Apple. Find the share by name or ticker symbol: AAPL. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment that matches your financial goals.
- Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Apple reaches your desired price. To spread out your risk, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying using consistent intervals and amounts.
- Decide on how many to buy. At last close price of US$254.49, weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimise risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Apple, depending on your broker.
- Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Apple. Optimise your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights.
Have Apple's shares ever split?
Apple's shares were split on a 4:1 basis on 30 August 2020. So if you had owned 1 share the day before the split, the next day you would own 4 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Apple shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 75% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Apple shares which in turn could have impacted Apple's share price.
Apple shares at a glance
Information last updated 2024-12-18.
| 52-week range | US$163.4884 - US$254.28 |
|---|---|
| 50-day moving average | US$233.462 |
| 200-day moving average | US$209.7019 |
| Target price | US$246.2583 |
| PE ratio | 40.7977 |
| Dividend yield | US$0.98 (0.4%) |
| Earnings per share (TTM) | US$6.08 |
Use the fields above to explore the returns from a historical investment. Please refer to the charts further up this page to see performance over 5 years, or other periods. Past performance doesn't indicate future results. Capital is at risk.
Apple price performance over time
Historical closes compared with the last close of $254.49
| 1 week (2024-12-13) | 2.56% |
|---|---|
| 1 month (2024-11-21) | 11.36% |
| 3 months (2024-09-20) | 11.52% |
| 6 months (2024-06-21) | 22.65% |
| 1 year (2023-12-21) | 30.72% |
|---|---|
| 2 years (2022-12-21) | 87.88% |
| 3 years (2021-12-21) | 47.11% |
| 5 years (2019-12-20) | 264.29% |
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The value of your investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no indication of future results.
Is it a good time to buy Apple stock?
The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. However, this is not a recommendation. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.
Is Apple under- or over-valued?
Valuing Apple stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Apple's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.
Apple's P/E ratio
Apple's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 41x. In other words, Apple shares trade at around 41x recent earnings.
That's relatively high compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The high P/E ratio could mean that investors are optimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're over-valued.
Apple's PEG ratio
Apple's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 2.619. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.
The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Apple's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.
Apple's EBITDA
Apple's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is US$134.7 billion (£106.3 billion).
The EBITDA is a measure of a Apple's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure stock profitability.
Apple share price volatility
Over the last 12 months, Apple's shares have ranged in value from as little as US$163.4884 up to US$254.28. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".
Beta measures a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NASDAQ average) beta is 1, while Apple's is 1.24. This would suggest that Apple's shares are a little bit more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively speaking, a slightly higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).
Apple financials
| Revenue TTM | US$391 billion |
|---|---|
| Operating margin TTM | 31.17% |
| Gross profit TTM | US$170.8 billion |
| Return on assets TTM | 21.46% |
| Return on equity TTM | 157.41% |
| Profit margin | 23.97% |
| Book value | 3.767 |
| Market capitalisation | US$3.7 trillion |
| EBITDA | US$134.7 billion |
TTM: trailing 12 months
Apple share dividends
Dividend payout ratio: 14.67% of net profits
Recently Apple has paid out, on average, around 14.67% of net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 0.4% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), Apple shareholders could enjoy a 0.4% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Apple's case, that would currently equate to about $0.98 per share.
While Apple's payout ratio might seem low, this can signify that Apple is investing more in its future growth.
Apple's most recent dividend payout was on 13 November 2024. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 7 November 2024 (the "ex-dividend date").
Apple's environmental, social and governance track record
Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Apple.
When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.
Apple's total ESG risk score
Total ESG risk: 26.15
Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Apple's overall score of 26.15 (as at 12/31/2018) is pretty good – landing it in it in the 37th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.
ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Apple is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).
Apple's environmental score
Environmental score: 0.99/100
Apple's environmental score of 0.99 puts it squarely in the 5th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Apple is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Apple's social score
Social score: 13.98/100
Apple's social score of 13.98 puts it squarely in the 5th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Apple is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.
Apple's governance score
Governance score: 11.18/100
Apple's governance score puts it squarely in the 5th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Apple is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Apple's controversy score
Controversy score: 3/5
ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. Apple scored a 3 out of 5 for controversy – a middle-of-the-table result reflecting that Apple hasn't always managed to keep its nose clean.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary
Apple Inc was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.
| Total ESG score | 26.15 |
|---|---|
| Total ESG percentile | 36.8 |
| Environmental score | 0.99 |
| Environmental score percentile | 5 |
| Social score | 13.98 |
| Social score percentile | 5 |
| Governance score | 11.18 |
| Governance score percentile | 5 |
| Level of controversy | 3 |
Apple overview
Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod. It also provides AppleCare support and cloud services; and operates various platforms, including the App Store that allow customers to discover and download applications and digital content, such as books, music, video, games, and podcasts, as well as advertising services include third-party licensing arrangements and its own advertising platforms. In addition, the company offers various subscription-based services, such as Apple Arcade, a game subscription service; Apple Fitness+, a personalized fitness service; Apple Music, which offers users a curated listening experience with on-demand radio stations; Apple News+, a subscription news and magazine service; Apple TV+, which offers exclusive original content; Apple Card, a co-branded credit card; and Apple Pay, a cashless payment service, as well as licenses its intellectual property. The company serves consumers, and small and mid-sized businesses; and the education, enterprise, and government markets. It distributes third-party applications for its products through the App Store. The company also sells its products through its retail and online stores, and direct sales force; and third-party cellular network carriers, wholesalers, retailers, and resellers. Apple Inc. was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.
Past developments
09 January 2023: Apple plans to release a suite of new products in 2023, including updated MacBook Pros, a new Mac Pro, an updated full-sized HomePod, and new iPhone models in the autumn. Apple's AR/VR headset, likely to be named "Reality Pro," will be announced during an event this spring before WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference), which is typically held in June, before the product begins shipping this autumn.
04 January 2023: More than a trillion dollars (£0.83 billion) has been wiped off the market value of Apple. The drastic fall in the iPhone maker's share price from its peak means there are no more businesses worth more than $2 trillion, (£1.66 trillion).
26 May 2022: Apple is asking its suppliers to assemble about 220 million iPhones this year, about the same as last year, Bloomberg reported.
04 January 2023: More than a trillion dollars (£0.83 billion) has been wiped off the market value of Apple. The drastic fall in the iPhone maker's share price from its peak means there are no more businesses worth more than $2 trillion, (£1.66 trillion).
26 May 2022: Apple is asking its suppliers to assemble about 220 million iPhones this year, about the same as last year, Bloomberg reported.
Apple in the news
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