Not so long ago, diehard Apple fanatics would camp to be first in line to buy the company’s latest iPhone, among other products. These days, many people are more keen to buy shares of Apple, and it’s consistently among the most-held stocks for Robinhood customers.
Apple’s appeal to investors makes sense given its popularity with consumers. The iPhone debuted in 2007 and there are now more than 1 billion active iPhones around the world. As the Cupertino, California-based tech giant has rolled out one new gadget after another — including the iPod, iPhone, iPad, Airpods, Apple Watch, and MacBook — it has also dominated the stock market. Apple stock has delivered total returns (assuming dividends are reinvested) of nearly 7,000% in the past 15 years, the fourth-best performer in the S&P 500 Index during that time.
Since launching its initial public offering (IPO) in 1980 at $22 a share, Apple has completed five stock splits, most recently in 2020. These splits help keep Apple’s stock price within reach for many investors. Still, the decision to buy Apple shares could take a bite out of your investment budget, so here’s how to evaluate if the stock deserves to hang around your portfolio.
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Apple stock (AAPL) fundamentals
For millions of Americans, at least one Apple product is integral for getting through the day. On Wall Street, Apple does a lot of the heavy lifting in the broader stock market. The company is the largest component of the S&P 500 Index, meaning that its performance has a bigger effect on the index’s day-to-day moves than more than 100 of the index’s smallest members, combined.
Apple also is a member of the smaller and more exclusive Dow Jones Industrial Average, which it joined in 2015, and the tech heavy Nasdaq 100 index. The stock is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker AAPL, and is grouped in the information technology sector alongside the likes of Microsoft, Nvidia, and Visa.
To evaluate Apple as an investment opportunity, it’s important to understand the company’s financials. You can easily access earnings reports through Apple’…….