Apple may be lagging behind its competitors in the AI game, but according to one analyst, it’s still a good idea to own the stock. Dan Flax of Neuberger Berman told Yahoo Finance Live that he is still fond of the stock at its current levels, despite the fact that the company has not been as innovative as Microsoft and Google.
Both tech giants have been integrating generative AI such as ChatGPT and Bard respectively into their technologies, while Apple has been more focused on evolving its hardware and software applications.
"If we look to what they said about the March quarter and then think about the next several months, the devices remain incredibly valuable to customers," Flax explained. "What's going on across the company is they're innovating in iPhone, Mac, iPad, wearables.”
“Services remains a very, very interesting business and continue to grow. And so I think what will matter over the next several months and into the balance or late this year and into 2024 is we'll see growth improve."
Despite this analysis, Apple could be hinting at signs of trouble after Apple CEO Tim cook and CFO Luca Maestri made multiple references to the “challenging economy” during last week’s earnings call. According to Yahoo Finance, such a tone was “unusual” for the company, which has typically exuded a greater degree of confidence.
The comments came after Apple reported missed earnings on iPhones and wearable devices, which is likely due to the slowing economy and backed-up supply chains in China. This week, Apple stock is down 2%, while Microsoft is up 1.8% after announcing its ChatGPT integration.
Still, Flax is hopeful that Apple will come back strong in the upcoming months. "If they're able to innovate even in the face of what is of course a challenging environment, I think Apple can create additional shareholder value over the next one to two years,” he added.
Source: 1
