Apple With No Artificial Intelligence Looks More Like Coca-Cola Than High-Growth Tech

tech.hindustantimes.com:

For two decades, no company better embodied the promise of the stock market than Apple Inc. Its transformation from niche computer maker to the most valuable corporation on the planet made its shares a cornerstone of investment portfolios worldwide.

But in what seems like a blink of an eye, Apple's sheen is starting to fade. Artificial intelligence is the story in technology now, driving the growth that the company used to count on from selling its gadgets and services to eager consumers across the globe.

This has Apple in a quandary. Its revenue expansion is stagnating, and the stock is underperforming the Nasdaq 100 by about 16 percentage points, the most to start a year since 2013. The company still generates massive revenues, but whether that can keep increasing at the pace investors have come to expect is an open question. Apple executives say they have big plans for AI, which bulls hope will help rejuvenate its sales expansion. But so far it's hard to gauge its prospects.

All of which has investors wondering, if Apple's AI dreams don't come to fruition, what is the role of the shares today?

“It's become more of a value stock, a bit like Coca-Cola,” said Phil Blancato, chief executive officer at Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management and chief market strategist at Osaic. “All the things you want that's going to offer you a defensive profile and market rate returns for the foreseeable future until they have a new catalyst.”

Indeed, Apple remains the reliable money machine it's always been. Looking for a shareholder-friendly cash flow juggernaut? How about a safe haven with a bulletproof balance sheet? It checks those boxes. 

“If you're a long-term investor that really likes solid, stable growth, that's very annuity like, with growing margins, improving profitability and a business that generates significant amounts of cash and still has lots of innovation runway, we think Apple is a great place to be,” said Kevin Walkush, portfolio manager at Jensen Investment