The most valuable company in the world, Apple, is inching ever so closer to the coveted mark of $4 trillion valuation. This is because investors are cheering the long-awaited progress the company is making in AI to rejuvenate their sluggish sales of the iPhone. The company has pulled ahead of the competition, like Microsoft and Nvidia, thanks to a 16% jump in its share price since November, which has added around $500 billion to the value of the company.
In the past, Apple has been criticized for being slow in incorporating AI into their devices. While its competitors like Nvidia, which was once the most valuable company in the world, and Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta platforms have made strides in the AI ecosystem. As a result, the shares of Nvidia, a manufacturer of AI chips and its biggest beneficiary, have surged more than 800% over the last two years.
In June 2024, Apple announced it would be adding generative AI to its devices very soon. As a result, earlier in December, Apple started integrating OpenAI’s Chat GPT into their devices. The company expects its revenue to grow by low-to-mid-single digits in the first fiscal quarter. This will also give them an understanding of the momentum of their upcoming iPhone 16 series.
Erik Woodring, analyst at Morgan Stanley, said, “Although near-term iPhone demand is still muted … it is a function of limited Apple Intelligence features and geographic availability, and as both broaden, it will help to drive an improvement in iPhone demand.”
