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Apple Inc. (AAPL) was trending on Thursday, and not because of some dramatic headline. Investors were busy weighing the company's capital-return capacity, its pricing power and its expanding AI strategy against a Technology sector that was, well, pretty flat.
The backdrop: the S&P 500 gained 0.1%, the Nasdaq rose 0.12%, and the Dow advanced 0.20%, while broader market breadth stayed mixed. Apple, in other words, was doing its own thing.
Apple recently reclaimed a $5 trillion market capitalization. It also raised $7.5 billion through a high-grade bond offering that attracted about $31 billion in peak orders. That is a lot of demand for debt from a company that hardly needs the cash, but investors like lending to Apple.
The company plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including share repurchases, which adds to its capital-return capacity. Buybacks, in case you forgot, are a handy way to make each remaining share worth a little more.
Apple is also accelerating its AI strategy under CEO John Ternus, pushing Siri toward more agent-like capabilities. Yes, Siri is getting an upgrade. Again. But this time the company seems serious about it.
Apple is reshaping its operating-system development process ahead of iOS 28, iPadOS 28 and macOS 28, giving engineers more time for coding, exploration and feature development. Translation: fewer rushed deadlines, more room to build things that actually work.
The company is also rolling out Apple Intelligence in China through beta software and has launched a new touch-screen MacBook Pro. A touch-screen Mac, for those keeping score, is one of those things Apple spent years insisting it would never do. Times change.
CNBC's MacKenzie Sigalos said Thursday that Apple's holiday-quarter growth is being driven more by higher pricing than by increased iPhone unit sales. That is a subtle but important distinction.
Citing UBS data, Sigalos said iPhone revenue could climb 12% to $95 billion even as unit sales decline 3%. Apple itself guided to 7%-10% total holiday-quarter revenue growth.
Sigalos also highlighted the $2,000 foldable iPhone Duo, which remains difficult to obtain, with deliveries extending into late January despite shorter wait times. A $2,000 phone that you cannot easily buy is either a logistics problem or a masterclass in scarcity. Probably both.
She said Apple's pricing power is helping the company maintain a market capitalization above $5 trillion and widen its lead over NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA) to roughly $900 billion. She also said investors are favoring Apple's lower exposure to the AI infrastructure spending cycle. In other words, Apple gets to talk about AI without writing the giant checks for data centers that everyone else is writing.
Apple trades above each of its major moving averages. The stock sits 3.4% above its 20-day SMA of $345.65, 5.6% above its 50-day SMA of $338.53, 9.6% above its 100-day SMA of $326.04 and 18.9% above its 200-day SMA of $300.78.
The 20-day SMA remains above the 50-day SMA, while the 50-day SMA remains above the 200-day SMA. For the technically inclined, that is a constructive setup.
Apple carries a Buy consensus rating with an average price forecast of $345.94. Recent analyst actions include:
AAPL Price Action: Apple shares were down 0.03% at $355.53 at the time of publication on Thursday. The stock is trading near its 52-week high of $355.91, according to market data.
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