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Apple Inc. (AAPL) is a global technology company that designs, manufactures, and markets a wide range of consumer electronics, software, and services. The company is known for its innovative products and operates in highly competitive markets characterized by rapid technological advancements. Apple sells smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and a variety of services, including digital content and payment solutions.
- iPhone - Develops and sells a line of smartphones based on the iOS operating system, known for their advanced features and user-friendly interface.
- Services - Offers a variety of services including digital content platforms, cloud services, and payment solutions, contributing significantly to Apple's business.
- Wearables, Home, and Accessories - Produces smartwatches, wireless headphones, media streaming devices, and smart speakers, enhancing the Apple ecosystem.
- Wearables - Includes products like the Apple Watch and AirPods, as well as the Apple Vision Pro spatial computer.
- Home - Features products such as Apple TV and HomePod smart speakers.
- Mac - Designs and sells personal computers, including laptops and desktops, running on macOS.
- iPad - Offers a line of multipurpose tablets based on iPadOS, catering to both personal and professional use.
| Name | Position | External Roles | Short Bio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tim Cook ExecutiveBoard | Chief Executive Officer (CEO) | Board Member at Nike, Inc.; Board Member at The National Football Foundation; Trustee at Duke University; Leadership Council Member at Malala Fund. | CEO of Apple since 2011, joined Apple in 1998. Previously COO and EVP of Worldwide Sales and Operations. Oversaw Apple's market cap growth by over $3 trillion. | View Report → |
Deirdre O’Brien Executive | SVP, Retail + People | None reported. | Leads Apple’s retail and online teams and People team. Joined Apple in 1988. Previously VP of People and VP of Operations. | View Report → |
Jeff Williams Executive | Chief Operating Officer (COO) | None reported. | COO since 2015. Oversees worldwide operations, customer service, and Apple Watch development. Joined Apple in 1998. | View Report → |
Kate Adams Executive | SVP, General Counsel, and Secretary | None reported. | General Counsel since 2017. Oversees legal matters, including corporate governance, litigation, and compliance. Former General Counsel at Honeywell International. | View Report → |
Kevan Parekh Executive | Chief Financial Officer (CFO) | None reported. | CFO since January 2025. Joined Apple in 2013. Previously VP of Financial Planning and Analysis and VP of Worldwide Finance for Sales, Marketing, and Retail. | View Report → |
Alex Gorsky Board | Director | Board Member at IBM; Board Member at JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Board Member at Travis Manion Foundation; Board Member at National Academy Foundation. | Director since 2021. Former Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson. Expertise in health and technology. | |
Andrea Jung Board | Director | President and CEO of Grameen America LLC; Board Member at Rockefeller Capital Management; Board Member at Unilever PLC; Board Member at Wayfair Inc.. | Director since 2008. Former CEO of Avon Products. Expertise in brand marketing and consumer products. | |
Art Levinson Board | Chair of the Board | CEO of Calico; Board Member at Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; Board of Scientific Consultants at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. | Chair of Apple’s Board since 2000. Former CEO and Chairman of Genentech. Recognized for contributions to science and technology. | |
Monica Lozano Board | Director | Board Member at Bank of America Corporation; Board Member at Target Corporation; Chair of the Board of Weingart Foundation. | Director since 2021. Former CEO of College Futures Foundation. Expertise in media, marketing, and strategic planning. | |
Ron Sugar Board | Director | Board Member at Amgen Inc.; Board Member at Chevron Corporation; Board Member at Uber Technologies, Inc.; Trustee at University of Southern California. | Director since 2010. Former Chairman and CEO of Northrop Grumman. Expertise in financial management and global operations. | |
Sue Wagner Board | Director | Board Member at BlackRock, Inc.; Board Member at Samsara Inc.; Trustee at Wellesley College; Board Member at Color Health, Inc.. | Director since 2014. Co-founder of BlackRock, Inc. Expertise in financial services and global business. | |
Wanda Austin Board | Director | Board Member at Amgen Inc.; Board Member at Chevron Corporation; Co-founder of MakingSpace, Inc.; Member of American Energy Innovation Council. | Director since 2024. Former CEO of The Aerospace Corporation. Expertise in technology, cybersecurity, and public policy. |
- With Services revenue reaching a $100 billion run rate, can you elaborate on the sustainability and growth prospects of the recurring versus transactional components, and how competitive pressures might affect these segments?
- Given that peers are significantly increasing their R&D investments in AI, do you believe reallocating existing resources is adequate, or should Apple increase its R&D spending beyond the current 7% to 8% of sales to fully capitalize on AI opportunities?
- Despite your large installed base, services like Apple Music, News, Arcade, and Fitness are not leading in their markets; what strategies do you have to enhance their competitiveness, and is the decision to keep them non-cross-platform limiting their growth potential?
- You've maintained around $50 billion in net cash despite pledges to achieve a net neutral cash position; how do you plan to utilize this cash effectively, and are there more aggressive investment opportunities you're considering instead of increasing shareholder returns?
- Considering economic uncertainties and geopolitical tensions in China, how do you plan to mitigate potential risks in this crucial market, and what impact might these factors have on your future growth strategies there?
Notable M&A activity and strategic investments in the past 3 years.
| Company | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
Undisclosed | 2022 | Apple completed business acquisitions totaling $306 million in fiscal year 2022; however, no further details on strategic rationale, specific assets, or notable terms were provided. |
Recent press releases and 8-K filings for AAPL.
- Luxshare Precision Industry aims to raise over $1 billion in its first Hong Kong IPO without altering its leadership or controlling shareholders.
- In 2024, operating income rose 15.91% to 268.8 billion yuan (US$37.52 billion) and net profit grew 22% to 13.37 billion yuan.
- Apple accounts for about 71% of Luxshare’s revenue, highlighting the supplier’s critical role in Apple’s supply chain.
- The offering is being handled by China International Capital Corp., Citic Securities, and Goldman Sachs.
- Foxconn recalled over 300 Chinese engineers and technicians from its iPhone manufacturing facilities in India, a withdrawal that began around May 2025.
- The departure of these skilled workers—instrumental in training local staff and maintaining assembly–line efficiency—could delay iPhone production and increase costs.
- This recall comes alongside Foxconn’s $1.5 billion investment in India and government approval for a new semiconductor factory, highlighting geopolitical tensions in supply‐chain diversification.
- Remaining on-site staff in India are mostly support personnel from Taiwan, potentially limiting technical expertise despite earlier training efforts.
- Apple is considering replacing its in-house Foundation Models with OpenAI's GPT and Anthropic's Claude to power Siri, a potential strategic shift away from its internal AI.
- The company has asked Anthropic and OpenAI to develop versions of their models tailored for Apple's private cloud infrastructure using custom silicon.
- Apple uses on-device models for lighter tasks (e.g., email summarization) and cloud-based AI for more intensive workloads, and external providers could handle the latter.
- Concurrently, Apple is building a next-spring Siri update relying on its own Foundation Models as a competing initiative.
- US stocks extended a record-breaking rally, with the S&P 500 posting its best quarter since 2013 and building on gains into the second half of the year.
- Senate Republicans are working to pass a $3.3 trillion spending bill, heightening concerns over the US deficit.
- Apple is evaluating the use of external AI to power its next Siri upgrade, diverging from its in-house models amid challenges in generative AI.
- The June US ISM manufacturing index is expected at 48.8, up from May’s 48.5 and marking three consecutive months of improvement.
- Apple’s film “F1” opened with over $55 M domestically, with IMAX capturing more than 20% of its debut box office.
- IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond cited significant market share gains, noting recent blockbusters have achieved IMAX shares of 20–23% despite IMAX accounting for under 1% of screens.
- The film generated approximately $145 M in IMAX revenues globally, skewing more international, and showed smaller-than-typical weekend drops ahead of the July 4 period.
- IMAX is on pace to surpass its 2019 best-year box office performance, driven by heightened consumer demand post-pandemic.
- Apple reportedly invested up to $300 M in “F1” and has committed to future theatrical projects with its production partners.
- Gene Munster highlights that investor confidence hinges on Apple’s new Siri rollout, noting management has reset expectations to a lower bar for AI progress this year.
- iPhone unit growth forecasts have been revised down from ~6–8% to 1% in 2025 and 4% in 2026, reflecting weaker demand over the past six months.
- Apple’s $10 billion CapEx spend trails hyperscalers but could rise to $25–50 billion to support AI initiatives and pursue acquisitions like Perplexity for search and LLM capabilities.
- Deepwater sees megacap tech continuing to perform well, while frontier AI names (sub-$500 billion) outpaced the Mag 7, with their ETF up 7% vs. Mag 7’s 6% over three weeks.
- Apple is in early talks to acquire or partner with Perplexity AI, a startup valued at $14 billion, to boost its AI search capabilities and reduce reliance on Google amid antitrust pressures.
- The deal would be Apple’s largest acquisition if completed but faces regulatory scrutiny given Apple’s $20 billion annual search revenue from Google.
- Meta previously showed interest but did not reach a deal, while Samsung is reportedly close to investing in Perplexity to enhance AI features in its Galaxy devices.
- Perplexity AI, co-founded by researchers from DeepMind, Google Brain, and OpenAI, offers quick and pro search modes (with a free tier limited to three pro queries per day) and is backed by NVIDIA.
- Apple’s shares fell nearly 25%, wiping out about $900 billion in market cap amid a class action lawsuit over alleged misrepresentations on the Siri AI timeline, with shareholders claiming significant losses .
- The company is in early-stage talks to acquire or partner with Perplexity AI—a startup valued at $14 billion—in what could be its largest AI deal, eclipsing previous acquisitions like Beats .
- Discussions aim to bolster Apple’s in-house AI search capabilities, including potential integration of Perplexity’s technology into Safari and a Siri upgrade scheduled around 2026, amid setbacks in its $20 billion Google search deal .
- Market watchers note that Apple could either buy outright for full control or license the technology to avoid regulatory hurdles .
- Competition in the AI space is heating up; Meta previously approached Perplexity but partnered with Scale AI, while Perplexity is also in talks with Samsung, complicating negotiations .
- Senior executives—including M&A chief Adrian Perica and services head Eddy Cue—are coordinating the evaluation and deal strategy .
- Risk of new DMA charges: Apple must comply with the Digital Markets Act by June 26 or face a new EU charge sheet, after a €500 million fine earlier this year.
- Anti-steering dispute: The EU is pressing Apple to allow developers to inform customers about cheaper alternatives outside the App Store, ending Apple’s current “anti-steering” restriction.
- Potential fines: Continued noncompliance could trigger fines of up to 5% of Apple’s average daily worldwide revenue for each day of breach.
- Regulatory friction: Apple claims EU regulators are “moving the goalposts” and has invested hundreds of thousands of engineering hours to meet DMA requirements.
- Apple’s price cuts on iPhone 16 models of up to 2,530 yuan ($351) led it to top China smartphone sales in May, its strongest two-month global growth since the pandemic.
- Global iPhone shipments grew 15% year-over-year in April and May, driven by China, the US, and double-digit gains in Japan, India, and the Middle East.
- Analysts rate Apple stock as Outperform with a consensus price target implying nearly 16% upside, and GuruFocus projects a GF Value of $209.54 (5.19% upside in one year).