Apple (AAPL)'s
market capitalization has hit a record $700 billion, a major milestone
for CEO Tim Cook since the market cap doubled in the three years he's
been at the helm."It's the ultimate statement of what Tim Cook has
added," said Gene Munster, a senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray.
Cook took the reigns in August 2011, when founder Steve Jobs officially
stepped down from the post two months before his death from cancer.
"The
general public was unsure how to grade his performance, because you're
comparing him to Steve Jobs, but when you look at it in that context, I
think this has answered the question 'What is Tim Cook's legacy?' As CEO
he's doubled the stock off of what was already a huge run," Munster
said.
Record valuation, but not outsized Apple is the first S&P 500 (^GSPC)
company to ever reach a $700 billion market cap. Yet, on an
inflation-adjusted basis, it still has way to go to be the most valuable
company of all time. Microsoft's market cap peak of $613 billion in
1999 translates to nearly $874 billion in 2014 dollars.
Read More Hedge funds love Apple, hate AT&T Apple's market cap size
is also relative historically in terms of its valuation within the
S&P 500 (^GSPC) index. When Microsoft (MSFT) peaked, its market value amounted to nearly 5 percent of the overall value of the S&P 500. In the 1980s, when IBM (IBM)
was the top-valued company in the index, it amounted to more than 6
percent of the blue chips' overall value. "Currently, Apple wouldn't
even be among the top five companies" by that measure, said Howard
Silverblatt, senior index analyst for S&P indexes. He noted that
Apple's current weighting within the S&P 500 is less than 4 percent,
since the overall market has risen to record levels. Apple's record
comes relatively cheap, by historic measures.
When Microsoft was at the
top, it was trading at 72 times earnings, according to Nasdaq and
Factset data. Apple's price-to-earnings ratio is currently 18, in line
with the overall S&P, even as the tech giant's sales and profits are
growing faster than the overall blue chips-Apple's revenues are growing
at 15 percent and its earnings at over 20 percent. Read More Russia's
richest man on investing in Alibaba, Xiaomi Munster believes the law of
big numbers has kept most investors from giving the iPhone maker a
bigger growth premium. "The apprehension is that it's just such huge
company right now. It's hard for investors to imagine what they can do
in the future to get things really to grow exponentially," he said. The
iPhone continues to be the company's earnings juggernaut.
Next year, the
tech giant is expected to launch its first new product category of
Cook's tenure, the Apple Watch. Analysts are mixed on the potential
popularity of the new wearable device, but they continue to see shares
going higher. Munster and Evercore analyst Rob Cihra have set a price
target for Apple shares of $135 over the next year, a level that would
give the company a market valuation near $800 billion. More than one
Apple bull has said out loud he sees the company's market valuation
reaching $1 trillion. Apple investor Carl Icahn argues that with the
company's massive cash hoard, its true market valuation is already in
the 10-figure range. If you're wondering, for Apple to reach that
milestone, its stock price would have to rise another 43 percent from
these levels to $171 per share.
Article source Yahoo
