“Wall Street analysts rushed to raise their stock price targets on Amazon.com Inc. after the e-commerce giant reported blowout second-quarter results, and now project the company to be the first to crack the $1 trillion market-capitalization mark,” Tomi Kilgore reports for MarketWatch.
“The average price target of the 48 analysts surveyed by FactSet increased to $2,076.83, up from $1,892.66 at the end of June,” Kilgore reports. “With 487.74 million shares outstanding, that would peg Amazon’s market cap at $1.01 trillion.”
“The average price target for Apple Inc. is $201.79,” Kilgore reports, “which would represent a market cap of $991.87 billion, based on 4.915 billion shares outstanding as of April 20.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: In related news, analysts’ concensus predicted the demise of Apple twenty years ago.
Analysts don’t even know how many AAPL shares are outstanding, so projecting Apple’s market cap is a fool’s errand.
Note: Apple reports Q318 results on Tuesday, July 31, 2018, at market close. Check our homepage right around 1:30pm PDT / 4:30pm EDT next Tuesday for the results.
SEE ALSO:
Race to $1 trillion: Apple vs. Amazon – July 23, 2018
Race to $1 trillion: Analysts are still betting on Apple over Amazon – July 19, 2018
Race to $1 trillion: Amazon hits $900 billion valuation, rivals Apple – July 18, 2018
Amazon closes on Apple in the race to trillion-dollar market cap – July 2, 2018
The race to the trillion-dollar market cap – June 26, 2018
Apple’s $1 trillion market value is a moving target due to record buybacks – May 29, 2018
Apple made more profit in three months than Amazon has generated during its lifetime – May 11, 2018
Apple: Why stop at $1 trillion? – May 8, 2018
Apple’s march to become the world’s first trillion dollar company – May 8, 2018
Apple vs. Amazon: Who will win race to be world’s first $1 trillion company? – April 2, 2018
Apple is going to be the first trillion-dollar company – March 1, 2018
Bank of America predicts Apple market value to surge to $1.1 trillion – January 17, 2018
Apple leads race to become world’s first trillion-dollar company – January 3, 2018
now Amazon only needs to quadruple their earnings to be worth their stock price.
But there’s the rub. Amazon doesn’t have to quadruple their earnings to be worth the stock price. Investors are happy to pay a huge premium to own Amazon and I doubt Amazon will ever have to quadruple their earnings.
It’s almost embarrassing how big investors are going to happily pay $2000 a share for Amazon and won’t even pay $200 a share for Apple. That’s 10X as much as Apple is worth. It sort of makes Apple look downright pathetic in terms of how it’s being valued so far below Amazon.
I hate to say it, but I agree that Amazon will hit it first. They are growing rapidly and Apple is going to start going backwards if they don’t wise up and get the Macs back to yearly or so updates.
That is absolutely correct. Amazon will beat one trillion first when it was Apple’s for the taking all along if they had only been firing on all cylinders instead of being the proverbial sleeping tech giant. Incompetence, poor planning, not understanding their pro base, lackadaisical misguided design, not listening to customer feedback and lack of market insight will do that to you.
They’ve managed to pull off a feat where decades long ardent users have become Apple apathetic due to being ignored for years.
Well, often Apple is not the first to to party.
But when they arrive, they are certainly noticed!
I meant to say, “…to *the* party.”
Ha!
Amazon gets to $1 trillion first. So fu**ing what.
Well if in the history books you don’t mind being listed Trillion Dollar Company Number Two or Three when you could’ve been Number One you’re right.
Not much. It’s just that if Apple had wanted to, they could have been there quite some time ago using some key acquisitions. Apple is the only major tech stock that ignored having a cloud business. The cloud seems to offer easy money for tech companies, so I would say that’s poor judgment on Apple’s part. The cloud would have provided Apple with a steadily growing income and maybe they would have less of a reason to nickel and dime consumers.
So, it’s not simply that Amazon gets to $1T first, it’s just that Apple is unable to prove its value to Wall Street like most tech companies can. Microsoft has a P/E of 75. Facebook, even after the steep drop, has a P/E of 29. Apple can barely hold a P/E of 18. I see it as Wall Street’s lack of confidence in Apple’s growth.
While Amazon is steadily climbing like a F-22 Raptor on dual-afterburners, Apple climbs like some vintage P-51 Mustang. It appears to me, Apple isn’t taking advantage of its ample resources in order grow revenue like other companies are doing.
That’s just how I see it. I’m no financial expert. I’m only saying how Amazon is getting all the glowing praise and attention from Wall Street while Apple is being treated like some end-of-life steel mill company. Growth is everything to Wall Street and Apple doesn’t seem to have it. I’m very happy to get my Apple dividends each quarter, so I have no reason to complain about Apple not being good to shareholders.
“Apple is unable to prove its value to Wall Street like most tech companies can”. I disagree. Apple has provided proof time and time again on its value. I think the shorts are to blame. Apple is, as of today, #18 on the most shorted stock list. Amazon isn’t even in the top 50 (not sure what # they are). So when more people are rooting for Apple to fail it doesn’t help.
True no American Co. will be first. There have been others before it.
but getting there 1st is historically notable. Besides that, the current situ of “racing” to get there before competitor with curious numbers, heightens the wish to win.
Besides their curious numbers, Amazon increasingly smells like a monopoly. Comparing search results on a product from 5 years ago to today and it’s apparent. The lack of options, imply Amazon has increasingly few competitors.
Apple’s share count has been shrinking at about 4.5% YoY for several years, giving share holders a bigger piece of the pie with each reduction. Apple is buying its own stock because it is cheap. Apple’s customers (sales revenue) are financing Apple’s growth, enough so Apple is buying its shares back.
Amazon not so much, as share count continues to grow, reducing share holders ownership of the company. Amazon’s customers (sales revenue) aren’t financing Amazon’s growth, causing Amazon to raise cash by diluting share holder ownership – sell more shares because they are over priced
Actually, if you calculate it out, for the equivalent amount of money for the respective stocks you get a larger ‘piece’ of Amazon than you do Apple.
I remember on MDN they used to post every few months how much more Apple was worth than Dell as Apple climbed the market cap ladder. I suppose now MDN can post how much less Apple is worth than Amazon every few months to drive home the point Apple’s growth isn’t going anywhere.
There sure won’t be anyone at Apple pointing at Amazon and saying, “We’re coming after you.” Apple likely has no interest at all in chasing Amazon to regain the value crown. Corporate pride can only go but so far. Tim Cook has smaller fish to fry.
Yeah, this really doesn’t matter… like at at. As an Apple fan it would be a cool chapter to add to their already amazing comeback story.
I have cut the Amazon cord, due to ridiculous increases (20% prime) and mostly, because they are playing both sides of the selling game, NRA stuff and #NeverAgain gear. Pick one, or have some moral values but don’t promote both. Their packaging also sucks, but that is to be expected when you’re selling tons of crap that doesn’t conform to specific sizes. Wasted packaging means higher shipping costs, more trucks/planes needed to deliver all those packages, more carbon emissions, etc… I’m just one person, but trying to make things a little better, and shopping local more.
As the “Everything Store”, I doubt Amazon has qualms of selling products with opposing political values unless it is under their own brand name. Non-conforming sizes can’t really be helped, Amazon does not control the manufacturer’s design of products they sell through Amazon.
Their “Treasure Truck” concept, in addition to lockers at apartment buildings and some Whole Foods, may alleviate a portion of their carbon footprint for the ‘last mile’ of delivery.
Yes, Amazon will beat Apple to a Trillion dollar market cap.
Imagine if Apple had a full, state of the art Mac lineup. Imagine how sales would be doing then.
Imagine if the Mac App store wasnt the clusterfsck that it is today.
Imagine Apple wasnt distracted for 2 years building a non revenue producing spaceship.
All these faults rest with one person, Pipeline.
If Amazon beats Apple to a trillion, and it will, you can thank Pipeline for that.
But hey, at least you have your PC emojis!!
If an analyst says it, I don’t believe it. Apple is a fundamentally sound long term company. I believe it can still be here in 50 or even 100 years. I don’t believe Amazon will.
Take just one element; poor customer service (post sale) to determine Amazon’s long/short term viability.
Also, a pet pieve: a company that tells me “free shipping” on a cart, but then switches to faster deliver for a charge, which I then have to uncheck for free shipping, sucks, imo. Slimy is my adjective.
Amazon’s value is just a side note. What’s really astounding is how much Jeff Bezos is worth. Bezos is going to easily double Bill Gates wealth by next year. Bezos personal wealth will be worth more than half of any Fortune 500 companies. Talk about laughing all the way to the bank. He’ll have half the world kneeling at his feet. Lord Bezos. King Bezos. Emperor Bezos. Nice titles for the richest man in the world.
Though I can see where MDN’s claim of “Analysts don’t even know how many AAPL shares are outstanding, so projecting Apple’s market cap is a fool’s errand.” would probably be true, the reality (if different) would mean a lower number than ‘known’ by the analysts due to stock repurchases at the same stock price.
This would mean that the Marketcap they quote is actually higher than what it ‘really’ is.