Malcolm Ethridge, Mgn. partner, Capital Area Planning Group Apple Inc AAPL-Q COMMENT Aug 06, 2025

Valuation multiple's too high. Hardware is more of a risk. He can get similar growth elsewhere. Not sure they're at the front of AI or anywhere close. 

Is wavering about his call on this to own it, not trade it. Is expecting a non-exciting report and a slowdown in the growth in services revenue. Will they still receive $20 billion from Google to make Google Apple's default search engine, something a judge wants to end. Also, Epic is fighting Apple's policy to take a 30% cut from any transaction from any app downloaded from the Apple strore.

Now that tariffs are getting resolved, you could take a look at this name for potential growth going forward. iPhone brand will continue to do well. Expects it to fully catch up on its AI offering. Lots of cash on hand. Money spent on now-cancelled EVs can be diverted to R&D in AI. 

Is the only Mag 7 stock he doesn't own, because it is the only name with negative performance in 1-, 6- and 12-month time frames. He no longer owns it.

Half of their sales remain the iPhone, and people are changing that iPhone less often. They're struggling with VR. Also, they're not a cheap stock. Until the last quarter, revenue growth has been flat. They're lagging in AI, a huge question mark.

It's been moving up the last 5 days and has momentum. But the fundamentals remain flat--flat revenues and earnings. He prefers companies that have great fundamentals and are truly undervalued.

Recently sold it from his fund, but this morning bought it for himself because of positioning and momentum. You must buy this today. Revenue growth has flattened though, and Apple's weighting in the market is a problem because Apple is so large. A lot of people, on this news, will now buy this stock. Also, since early April, the stock has been resilient.

Of all the Mag 7's, this one has to buy parts and assemble phones. iPhone improvements have been fewer and fewer over time. Behind on AI. Will remain a great company, just got overvalued. Making moves to turn things around. Upside from here, but he wouldn't buy over Mag 7 peers. See his Top Picks.