A heavyweight positive news ignited Apple's stock price.
Overnight in the US stock market, Apple's stock price surged, closing up 7.26%, marking the largest increase since November 10, 2022. The stock price hit a historic closing high and its market value has surpassed Nvidia's. As of the close, Apple's total market value rose to $3.18 trillion (approximately RMB 23 trillion), with a daily surge of approximately $215 billion (approximately RMB 1560 billion), marking the largest daily increase in market value in the company's history and becoming the third largest daily increase in US stock market history.
On the news side, Apple launched a series of new artificial intelligence features at the annual Global Developers Conference on Monday, including comprehensive improvements to the voice assistant Siri, integration with the chatbot ChatGPT, as well as writing aids, custom emoticons, and more. Analysts point out that with the support of AI (artificial intelligence), this round of surge may be a market repricing of Apple.
Overnight, there was a huge shift in the view of Wall Street analysts towards Apple. Among them, Morgan Stanley stated that Apple's AI capabilities make the company the "most differentiated consumer digital agent", which will drive consumers to upgrade their iPhones and is expected to "accelerate the device replacement cycle"; Bank of America analysts point out that they firmly believe that artificial intelligence can help start the iPhone super cycle.
As Apple's stock soared, US President Biden couldn't laugh anymore because his son Hunter Biden was convicted of all three serious crimes. According to US law, the theoretical maximum sentence for the three charges combined is 25 years. This is also the first time in American history that children of serving presidents have been found guilty.
Overnight surge exceeding 1.5 trillion yuan
Overnight in the US stock market, Apple's stock price suddenly surged, breaking through the $200 per share mark during trading. As of closing, the increase reached 7.26%, marking the largest increase since November 10, 2022. The stock price rose to $207.15, setting a new historical closing high.
As of the close, Apple's total market value has risen to $3.18 trillion (approximately RMB 23 trillion), a sharp increase of about $215 billion (approximately RMB 1560 billion) in a single day, marking its largest daily increase in market value in history. Apple's latest total market value surpassed Nvidia, only behind Microsoft's $3.22 trillion, regaining the second place on the US stock market value list.
On the news side, the day before yesterday, Apple launched a series of new artificial intelligence features at the annual World Developers Conference (WWDC), including comprehensive improvements to the voice assistant Siri, integration with the chatbot ChatGPT, as well as writing aids, custom tables, and more.
Analysts point out that with the support of AI, this round of surge may be a re pricing of Apple by the market. Previously, the market was concerned that Apple was lagging behind other large technology companies in the AI wave, and the latest WWDC has made Apple's strategy clearer and clearer.
As of the latest close, Apple's stock price has risen nearly 25.6% from its closing low point on April 19th this year, entering a technical bull market. This rebound has increased its total market value by over $500 billion and returned to above the $3 trillion mark.
The starting point for Apple's current round of gains is the financial report released in early May. The report eased market concerns about its growth, as Apple also announced the largest stock buyback program in US history, with a total amount of $110 billion. Thanks to this financial report, May was the best month for Apple's stock price since July 2022.
Although Apple's stock price has just broken a historical record, it has risen by over 6% this year, still lagging behind the 13% increase in the Nasdaq 100 index. Other large technology companies, including Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta, have all achieved double-digit gains, and AI focused chip manufacturer Nvidia has surged by over 140%, with a total market value that once surpassed Apple.
Among the "seven sisters" in the US stock market, only Tesla has performed worse than Apple this year, and its share price has fallen by more than 30% this year.
The iPhone Super Cycle is Coming
It should be noted that the sharp rise in Apple's stock price occurred after the company's annual World Developers Conference (WWDC). On the day of the press conference, the initial reaction of Apple's stock price was not good, closing down nearly 2%.
At the WWDC conference, Apple showcased a range of AI related features and announced a partnership with OpenAI, with the iPhone integrating into ChatGPT.
Apple positions these features as AI for ordinary people, and consumers can access these tools by upgrading their iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Overnight, there was a huge shift in the view of Wall Street analysts towards Apple.
Morgan Stanley analysts stated in their report on Tuesday that Apple's AI capabilities make the company the "most differentiated consumer digital agent.". They believe that these features will drive consumers to upgrade their iPhones, potentially accelerating the device replacement cycle.
Analysts say that Apple still needs to achieve its delivery targets in the fall, and the good news is that "the groundwork for restoring growth and more sustained excellent performance is in place.". "WWDC has achieved the details that we focused on before the event, and we are more confident that Apple is about to undergo several years of product updates."
Morgan Stanley stated, "At WWDC, we have focused on key details and are more confident that Apple is about to receive years of product updates, which supports our overweight rating, target price of $216, and bull market valuation of $270."
At the same time, Bank of America is also optimistic about Apple, with Evercore analysts pointing out that these features will bring about an upgrade cycle for artificial intelligence iPhones. Bank of America maintains its buy rating on Apple due to the company's commitment to a multi-year upgrade cycle, potential for increased gross profit margins, and service growth.
Evercore analysts stated that their confidence in Apple's artificial intelligence strategy has doubled after attending the WWDC conference, especially because they believe it will drive users to upgrade their devices. Limiting Apple Intelligence to iPhones sold last year has strengthened our belief that artificial intelligence can help unlock the iPhone supercycle.
D A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria raised Apple's rating from "neutral" to "buy", stating in the report that Apple's AI conference has sparked hope among consumers that they will pay for the next generation of iPhones, and that AI features may bring much-needed iPhone upgrade cycles that represent the kind of growth catalyst that investors have been longing for. Apple not only has consumer information, but also their trust. It can provide deeply integrated features that independent chat applications, PCs, and Android devices may not be able to fully replicate.
Biden's son has been found guilty
Outside of the capital market, a major news in American politics is worth paying attention to.
On June 11th local time, a federal court jury in Delaware ruled that Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, was convicted of all three serious crimes, marking the first time in US history that a child of a serving president has been found guilty.
After his son was convicted, US President Biden immediately issued a statement emphasizing respect for judicial procedures.
As Biden's youngest son and the only surviving heir in his first marriage, Hunter Biden has a long history of drug and alcohol abuse, and the newly ruled case is also related to drug use.
In 2018, Hunter Biden purchased a revolver from a gun store in Delaware. But according to US law, Hunter, who was still a cocaine and alcohol addict at the time, could not legally buy a gun. He falsely claimed in the background survey he filled out when buying a gun that he was not addicted to drugs. The gun was later discovered and discarded by his then partner, the widow of the late Gogbo Biden, Harry Biden. This incident sparked a police investigation.
With media exposure and judicial intervention, Hunter Biden has been charged with three federal felonies, two of which were related to false statements about drug addiction on federal background checks, and one was illegal possession of firearms during drug addiction.
According to US law, the theoretical maximum sentence for the three charges combined is 25 years. However, according to judicial practice, Hunter Biden, who had never been to prison before, is almost impossible to receive a maximum sentence, and with the addition of a reduction mechanism, he may face imprisonment time far below the theoretical maximum sentence.
After the jury verdict on Tuesday, the judge did not decide on the timing of sentencing in court, but told those present that sentencing is usually determined within 120 days of conviction. This means that this time point will be earlier than this year's US election day. Hunter's lawyer also stated after the verdict that they will actively utilize all legal channels.
It is worth mentioning that the first lady of the United States and Hunter's stepmother, Gil Biden, has been taking the time to attend the trial, expressing support for the family members. Within 48 hours of last Thursday, Gil Biden attended the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings and rushed back to the Delaware court. He then traveled from the court to the Elysee Palace to accompany Biden on his state visit to France.
Embarrassingly, according to the schedule, President Biden scheduled a public speech on Tuesday afternoon, with the theme of his government's achievements in promoting gun safety in the United States, particularly "reducing crime and preventing firearms from falling into dangerous hands.".
According to the latest news, the White House has announced the cancellation of Tuesday's regular press conference. Meanwhile, Biden will travel to his hometown in Delaware after his speech to accompany Hunter and other family members. Afterwards, he will depart for Italy to attend the G7 Leaders Summit.