Apple's market value closed above $3 trillion on December 5th local time, and the company's stock price has risen by more than 48% so far this year.
In an uncertain economic environment, Apple stock investment is still seen as a "fortress" for investors. Buffett's investment firm Berkshire Hathaway is one of the biggest winners, holding nearly 6% of Apple's shares worth approximately $157 billion.
Apple's market value broke through the $3 trillion mark for the first time in June this year, and the company's stock price reached a historic high on July 31.
"Apple has a large amount of cash flow, the iPhone is currently the highest profit margin mobile phone product in the world, and Apple also has a strong shareholder return plan, all of which have made the company's stock price strong," an investor holding Apple's stock told First Financial reporters.
However, Apple's recent quarterly financial report shows that the company is still working hard to address challenges such as slowing growth and fierce competition in the Chinese market. Apple's 2023 financial report, which began in October last year, showed a total revenue of $383.3 billion, a decrease of approximately 3% from the previous year. In the fiscal quarter ending September 30th this year, Apple's sales were $89.5 billion, a 1% decrease from the same period last year, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of decline in Apple's sales.
Apple warned last month that it expects its revenue to remain flat in the upcoming most important holiday season, which means investors should not have overly high expectations for revenue growth in Apple's busiest quarter of the year.
In addition, investors are also concerned that Apple will face intensified competition from Huawei in the Chinese market. In the third quarter of this year, Apple's sales in the Chinese market, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, remained basically unchanged year-on-year, with revenue of $15.08 billion.
Analysts say that China's demand for Apple's new iPhone 15 series is lower than last year's demand for iPhone 14 models. According to Counterpoint Research, the sales of iPhone 15 in China decreased by 4.5% in the first two weeks after its release compared to the sales of iPhone 14.
According to a report by investment bank Jefferies, in the Chinese market, the strong demand from customers for Huawei's new Mate 60 smartphone series has led to a double-digit percentage decline in iPhone 15 sales. But China is still very important for Apple, and the Chinese market is also the largest market for Apple after the United States.
Meanwhile, Apple still faces tax challenges in the European market. Recently, the Attorney General of the European Supreme Court stated that the European Court of Justice should re-examine a 13 billion euro tax case against Apple due to an erroneous ruling in favor of the company.
In a 2016 ruling, the European Commission stated that Apple had benefited from two tax avoidance provisions in Ireland for over 20 years. Subsequently, Apple filed an appeal and the European Court of Justice made a ruling in favor of Apple.