A well respected Apple analyst predicted that the company will outperform its major competitors in 2019. He added that while Apple would not be immune to macro economic issues, he would still expect it to beat other tech stock.
More Focus on ‘Apple as a Service’
Apple analyst Gene Munster, of Loup Ventures, predicted that Apple will outperform the other so-called FAANG stocks – Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google’s parent company Alphabet, in 2019. Mr. Munster wrote that the company’s “new reporting methodology will help focus investors on revenue and earnings growth, which should advance the view of Apple as a Service.” This will give “greater confidence in revenue and earnings visibility,” which will benefit the company, he predicted.
Mr. Munster also pointed out that “Facebook, Google, and Amazon will be facing regulatory headwinds” over the next years. Furthermore, 2019 will see the anticipation for the rollout of 5G, predicted for 2020 or 2021, increase. “5G will be the biggest new iPhone “feature” since the larger-screen iPhone 6 in 2014,” he said.
Apple ‘Not Immune’ if Economy Slows Down
However, Mr. Munster wrote that “Apple will not be immune to any broader economic slowdown.” He said that this posed a risk for Apple’s March quarter guidance. However, he confirmed that “we would still expect Apple to “outperform” the rest of FAANG” even in the face of a prolonged economic slowdown.
I wonder if he knows what he’s talking about. For the most part, all the other FANG stocks have always been valued far higher than Apple. Only Facebook is getting really beat up this past year. Even with services, I don’t believe Apple will ever be valued as highly as the FANG stocks, in terms of P/E. I’m just thankful I’m getting my quarterly dividends even as the bottom has dropped out of Apple’s stock. It’s hard to believe Apple was a trillion-dollar company a couple of months ago and now it’s worth much less than Microsoft. MSFT shareholders must be laughing their heads off and calling AAPL shareholders idiots. I must have been stupid for not thinking Apple stock would fall as far as it has. Not in my wildest dreams did I think Apple stock would fall 30% in a couple of months.
Apple better be buying back shares hand over fist at this current low price level.