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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Apple, Amazon and Alphabet
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL –August 3, 2018 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Apple (AAPL - Free Report) , Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) and Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:
Apple Reaches $1 Trillion Milestone
Investors have pondered for years what the first trillion-dollar company in the US would be. On Thursday, the conversation was put to rest as Apple reached the milestone, over 42 years since its storied inception.
Apple was pushed over the edge by a strong earnings report that saw flat iPhone sales but a significant boost in services revenue. Apple posted $2.34 in earnings per share, crushing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 17 cents and surging 40.4% year-over-year, reaching a new June record. Revenues for the quarter stood at $53.3 billion, surpassing our estimate of $52.34 billion and increasing 17% from the year-ago quarter.
Although Apple sold only a few hundred more iPhones than it did a year ago, segment revenues were 20% higher. This was thanks to a 19.5% boost in the average selling price of an iPhone to $724 during the quarter. CEO Tim Cook noted on a call with analysts that the premium-priced iPhone X was the firm’s best-selling model since its launch last year.
Investors were reassured by a new all-time best performance in Apple’s services segment, which includes revenues from the app store, Apple Music, AppleCare, Apple Pay, and licensing, along with other services. The segment soared 31% year-over-year to reach $9.55 billion in revenue, beating our estimate and accounting for 17.9% of total sales.
To reach $1 trillion in market cap, Apple shares initially needed to hit $203.45. However, the target changed to $207.05 as stock buybacks bumped the threshold higher. Apple would briefly reach this point in afternoon trading Thursday before ticking back down. Apple had opened at $200.58, down 0.5% from Wednesday’s closing price of $201.50.
Apple currently sits at a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Moving forward, investor eyes will be on Amazon and Alphabet as the next big names to reach the trillion-dollar mark. Both firms have been on a spree of solid earnings reports, and boast market caps of above $880 billion and $860 billion, respectively.
Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies
It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6%, and +67.1%.
And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Apple, Amazon and Alphabet
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL –August 3, 2018 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Apple (AAPL - Free Report) , Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) and Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:
Apple Reaches $1 Trillion Milestone
Investors have pondered for years what the first trillion-dollar company in the US would be. On Thursday, the conversation was put to rest as Apple reached the milestone, over 42 years since its storied inception.
Apple was pushed over the edge by a strong earnings report that saw flat iPhone sales but a significant boost in services revenue. Apple posted $2.34 in earnings per share, crushing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 17 cents and surging 40.4% year-over-year, reaching a new June record. Revenues for the quarter stood at $53.3 billion, surpassing our estimate of $52.34 billion and increasing 17% from the year-ago quarter.
Although Apple sold only a few hundred more iPhones than it did a year ago, segment revenues were 20% higher. This was thanks to a 19.5% boost in the average selling price of an iPhone to $724 during the quarter. CEO Tim Cook noted on a call with analysts that the premium-priced iPhone X was the firm’s best-selling model since its launch last year.
Investors were reassured by a new all-time best performance in Apple’s services segment, which includes revenues from the app store, Apple Music, AppleCare, Apple Pay, and licensing, along with other services. The segment soared 31% year-over-year to reach $9.55 billion in revenue, beating our estimate and accounting for 17.9% of total sales.
To reach $1 trillion in market cap, Apple shares initially needed to hit $203.45. However, the target changed to $207.05 as stock buybacks bumped the threshold higher. Apple would briefly reach this point in afternoon trading Thursday before ticking back down. Apple had opened at $200.58, down 0.5% from Wednesday’s closing price of $201.50.
Apple currently sits at a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Moving forward, investor eyes will be on Amazon and Alphabet as the next big names to reach the trillion-dollar mark. Both firms have been on a spree of solid earnings reports, and boast market caps of above $880 billion and $860 billion, respectively.
Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies
It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6%, and +67.1%.
And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.
See Them Free>>
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.