Did you know that in 2011, Samsung surpassed Nokia as the top smartphone provider and has been the number one company every year since then? Now, according to calculations by market researchers IDC, Apple has completed its first year as the world’s largest smartphone provider.

Strong Christmas quarter Apple set the standard for the modern smartphone with the iPhone in 2007. The company does not compete in the low-price segment, which has always brought in high profits but limited sales. In the Christmas quarter, which is traditionally the most important time for Apple’s business with new models, iPhone sales rose by 11.6% to 80.5 million devices, according to IDC. Meanwhile, Samsung’s sales dropped by about 11% to 53 million smartphones.

With 234.6 million iPhones, the US company surpassed Samsung in 2023 after more than ten years as the leader, as the analysis firm IDC announced. Samsung sold 226.6 million smartphones. Apple managed to increase its sales by 3.7% in an overall market that shrank by over 3%. Samsung’s sales, on the other hand, decreased by 13.6% in the same period.

BofA with buy recommendation Bank of America has raised its rating on Apple’s stock from „neutral“ to „buy.“ The price target was raised from US$208 to US$225. The experts at the major bank see growth potential for the technology company in the areas of artificial intelligence and virtual reality. According to the analysts, the recent share price development has already priced in many risks regarding future expectations. These include slightly weaker iPhone sales in China.

AI requires the latest hardware The Vision Pro Mixed Reality headset could be a catalyst for hardware and services at Apple. Driven by the need for the latest hardware to enable the introduction of generative AI features in 2024/2025, there could also be a multi-year iPhone upgrade cycle.

Apple stock in the weekly chart – ISIN: US0378331005

Source: https://www.aktienscreener.com

Technical outlook The Apple stock was able to recover from the slump in 2022 and reached a new record high in 2023. Currently, the stock is trading above the widely watched 40-week line (200-day line) after a setback. The breakout to a new all-time high is only a matter of time.

Conclusion The AI trend is still in its early stages, and Apple has enough money to fill projects with the best minds. If an influential American bank also gives a thumbs up, investor interest usually increases as well.