AAPL

Apple’s smartphone market share slide continues

Apple’s smartphone market share slide continues

Apple has lost its spot as the world’s biggest mobile phone seller, IDC reported today, April 15. A steep drop in sales in China for Apple let South Korean rival Samsung retake the lead in global market share. Samsung had been the biggest seller of mobile phones for 12 years until the end of 2023, when sales of Apple’s iPhone models overtook it. Global smartphone shipments increased by 8% to 289.4m units during January-March, according to IDC. Samsung has a 20.8% market share. That beat Apple’s 17.3% share

Apple’s smartphone market share slide continues

Apple shareholders looking at an even more volatile six months–buy, sell, or hold (and when)

Apple is likely to take its shareholders on an even wilder ride in the next six months than they’ve been on since the December all-time high at $199.62. The end result, I think is likely to be a renewed rally beginning in the fall–if you can either hold on through the volatility until then or see your way clear to timing when to buy and sell.

Please Watch My New YouTube Video: The Magnificent Five?

Please Watch My New YouTube Video: The Magnificent Five?

Today’s video is The Magnificent Five? The Magnificent Seven were the main drivers of market success at the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. But what happens when the Magnificent Seven are more like a magnificent Five, or even four? The original Magnificent Seven included Apple, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Nvidia, and Tesla. Both Tesla and Apple have taken major hits largely due to problems with China. China’s regulations have made it harder to sell Apple products in the country in the government’s effort to push domestic goods. Apple sales in China are down 16-17%. in the first six weeks of 2024. This, alongside a Wall Street perception that Apple is behind in AI technology, has brought Apple shares down 12% for 2024. As for Tesla, China is producing massive numbers of cheaper electric vehicles that are increasingly exported globally (with the exception of the United States where high tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles limit sales) leaving Tesla down 25% in 2024. Google is also down 5% year to date though it may be too soon to write Alphabet off as “not magnificent” just yet. Both Apple and Tesla are no longer pacing the market and are indeed lagging. Bad thing? Good thing? I’d vote for “good thing.” The rally is beginning to spread out from a handful of big names. The only thing that makes me a bit wary is that so many investors are hoping to make money on speculative moves while the market is moving sideways. Those moves could cause volatility in a market that is otherwise likely to stay steady until we get big news from the Federal Reserve on interest rate cuts in June or so.

Apple’s smartphone market share slide continues

Apple is a sell at least until its developers conference in June

Apple (AAPL) shares are down 12% for 2024 to date as of March 5. But I don’t think Apple’s troubles are over. And it will take some pretty fast taking at the June WWDC (World Wide Developers Conference) to reverse the downtrend in the shares. Absent a knock-it-out-of-the-park performance from CEO Tim Cook, I think the weakness will continue the company’s product announcements in September. And maybe longer. Those of you who have long memories may recall that I sold my shares of Apple in my 12-18 month Jubak’s Picks Portfolio back on September 12, 2023 at $176.30 a share. (I kept my long-term position in Apple in my 50 Stock Portfolio.) That sell turned out to be early. Painfully early. The stock hit a 2023 high of $198 on December 14. And it has only recently moved below my September sell, closing at $169.62 on March 6. But the iPhone China problem that led to that sell call has gotten worse. And since then Apple has developed an AI problem as well. And unfortunately the China problem and the AI problem mix to form an especially potent negative brew.

Saturday Night Quarterback says, For the week ahead expect…

Apple hit with patent judgment that puts quarterly sales growth in question

The hope among investors and on Wall Street was that Apple (AAPL) would show revenue growth when it reported its fiscal first quarter earnings in January. That growth would be the first in a year after four straight quarters of falling sales. That’s the longest streak of declining quarterly sales in two decades. But now a patent decision against Apple will take some of its best-selling Apple Watch series, the Series 9 and the Ultra2, off the market just as the holiday selling season is peaking.

This looks like some profit taking among tech stock winners

This looks like some profit taking among tech stock winners

Hedge funds are unwinding some of their overweight positions in technology stocks after their concentration in the sector reached record levels, according to Goldman Sachs. Net selling in tech, media and telecom stocks last week was the most since July, Goldman Sachs wrote in a note today. Information Technology (XLK) and Communication Services (XLC) were the most net sold sectors, Goldman said. And, among subsectors, sales of software stocks, chips and chip equipment and interactive media and services “were by far the most net sold.” The outweighed buying in IT services and media.”

Nvidia, last of Magnificent 7 reports: These stocks are driving the market

Nvidia, last of Magnificent 7 reports: These stocks are driving the market

On Monday Nvidia (NVDA) hit an all-time high. For 2023 through November 17, Nvidia and the other 6 stocks in the Magnificent Seven–Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), and Tesla (TSLA)–have gained more than 70%. The other 493 stocks in the Standard & Poor’ 500 are up 6% for that same period.

Saturday Night Quarterback says, For the week ahead expect…

Apple revenue falls again, warns holiday quarter will be flat

So let’s see how the market takes this tomorrow.

Today stocks staged an impressive upside more. The Standard & Poor’s 500 closed up 1.89% and the NASDAQ Composite ended the day 1.78% higher. The small cap Russell 2000 was the day’s best performer with a win of 2.67% Tomorrow? Well, the October jobs report released at 8:30 will certainly help set the tone for the day with a weak report likely to reinforce the belief that the Federal Reserve is done aiding interest rates. But given how much of the recent bounce has been fueled by a return of optimism about technology stocks, it’s likely that Apple’s disappointing results, announced after the close of trading today, Thursday, November 2, will determine the direction of the trend.

Special Report: Your 10 Best Moves for the Rest of 2023, Part 2–10 of 10 Moves (revised on 10/22)

Special Report: Your 10 Best Moves for the Rest of 2023, Part 2–10 of 10 Moves (revised on 10/22)

So what do you do with your portfolio for the rest of 2023? And what’s your best strategy to be prepared for 2024? In Part 1 of this Special Report I laid out the 10 developments that I thought would drive the financial markets for the rest of 223 and into 2024. Today, in Part 2, I’m going to give you the first 2 of 10 moves to take–with as much detail and as many specifics as possible–that you should be making now to position your portfolio for the uncertainties of the last quarter of 2023.

This looks like some profit taking among tech stock winners

A tough day for tech–Part 2, Bad news from Adobe (and selling Adobe out of my Volatility Portfolio)

Now that Fed day is done and behind us, we return to our regularly scheduled programming. Back on September 15, I posted “A tough day for tech–Part 1” after news on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) reporting that the company was slowing orders with suppliers of chip making equipment because of sluggish demand for chips from its customers. Now onto Part 2 of bad news for tech stocks.