Apple's AI Integration and Market Cap Milestone: Wedbush Predicts $4 Trillion Valuation

Apple 'Will Be The First To Hit' $4 Trillion Market Cap Milestone, Says Dan Ives As Hundreds Of Apps Will Be Built On AI Feature - Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Apple Inc AAPL is positioning itself for a significant market cap milestone as it plans to integrate new AI features and capitalize on a potential iPhone "supercycle," according to Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives. What Happened: In an interview with CNBC's "Squawk on the Street," Ives predicted that Apple will be the first company to reach a $4 trillion market capitalization, potentially as early as next year. He cited the company's strong iPhone sales forecast and the anticipated impact of AI integration across its software ecosystem as key drivers. "I see this as the beginning of a super cycle, which I believe is going to take Apple to the $4 trillion market cap early next year," Ives said. "They will be the first to hit it." Ives noted that Apple's large existing iPhone installed base of over 300 million devices provides a significant upgrade opportunity, with the potential for 50% or more of those users to purchase new iPhones in the coming product cycle. Furthermore, the analyst highlighted the importance of Apple's Services business, which he expects will be bolstered by the integration of AI across numerous apps and features. Ives anticipates this could generate an additional $10 billion to $20 billion in Services revenue for the company. "This is now going to be the hundreds of apps built on Apple Intelligence, which is going to give an incremental 10, 15, 20 billion of services revenue that is the key to this renaissance to growth from Cupertino," Ives explained. The analyst's bullish outlook on Apple's future performance is contingent on the successful integration of AI capabilities and the continued strong demand for iPhones, which he believes will reach a record 240 million units sold in the current fiscal year. See Also: Alphabet Bulls Charge Ahead Of Q3: Will Meta's AI Search, DOJ Roadblocks Change The Game? Why It Matters: Ives' prediction comes on the heels of Apple's recent advancements in AI technology. The company introduced its latest iMac, featuring the M4 chip and integrated Apple Intelligence, on Monday. This development is expected to significantly enhance user productivity while prioritizing data privacy. Analysts have also expressed optimism about Apple's future earnings, with JP Morgan's Samik Chatterjee maintaining an Overweight rating on the company, citing AI upsides and resilience in Services revenues. Ives previously said that skeptics of Apple who have overlooked the company's substantial rise -- over $1 trillion in market capitalization -- have misjudged three critical elements of Apple's trajectory: the installed base and pent-up iPhone upgrade demand, the growth of services and their valuation, and the emerging role of AI in consumer technology. Price Action: Apple Inc. closed at $233.40 on Monday, reflecting a gain of 0.86%, for the day. In after-hours trading, the stock dipped 0.39%. Year to date, Apple's stock has seen significant growth, rising by 25.73%, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Read Next: November Interest Rate Cut Almost A Done Deal As Blackout Begins: 10 Stocks Surging The Most Since Fed's Last Decision Image Via Unsplash Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Apple seen becoming the first company to hit $4 trillion market cap - Wedbush By Investing.com

Investing.com -- Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is on track to be the first company to hit $4 trillion in market capitalization, according to analysts at Wedbush. In a note to clients on Sunday, the analysts added they expect the iPhone manufacturer's valuation to hit that level in 2025, following by artificial intelligence-darling Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA). Shares in Apple have soared by more than 24% so far this year, buoyed in part by hopes that recently tepid iPhone demand will be bolstered by the tech giant's plans to enhance its products with new AI-fueled capabilities. Some analysts have suggested the "Apple Intelligence" features -- reportedly set to be included in a round of updates to Apple's latest 18 iPhone operating platform this week -- may persuade more customers to upgrade their older models to the new devices. Earlier this year, Chief Executive Tim Cook lauded the Apple Intelligence system, which aims to use AI to improve its Siri voice assistant and deliver more personalized offerings, as the company's "next big step." Apple will also deliver its September quarter results on Oct. 31. "We believe many bears and long time Apple naysayers that have missed the last $1 trillion [plus] upward move in market cap for Apple have miscalculated three very important dynamics of the Apple story: [...] unmatched installed base of over 2 billion iOS devices and 1.5 billion iPhones with [roughly] 300 million iPhones in the window of an upgrade opportunity, [...] services business worth $2 trillion of valuation which is increasing its monetization of the customer base, [and] consumer AI will go through Apple's ecosystem with over 20% of the world's population ultimately interacting with AI on an Apple device the next few years," the Wedbush analysts wrote. They maintained an "Outperform" rating of Apple's stock and kept their price target for the shares at $300.