Asleep at the Switch: What Wall Street Is Missing About Apple AI
Follow this Apple storyline ...
At the opening session of its 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) Monday, Apple Inc. AAPL 0.00%↑ unveiled its artificial-intelligence strategy.
And in a thumb-its-nose move at all the naysayers who want to write the company’s epitaph, Apple snarkily referred to “AI” as “Apple Intelligence.”
I love that.
But as my longtime friend, colleague and Apple expert David G Zeiler predicted in earlier interviews with me, Cupertino’s game plan failed to grab Wall Street’s approval.
Those Big Thinkers on Wall Street just don’t get it — at least for now.
I’ve known Dave for 25 years. So when I asked him about the AI-strategy analysis he was creating for his own site here on Substack, I immediately picked up the rueful tone in his voice.
“Bill, I’ve been saying this to you for weeks now … so you heard it here first: A few years from now, the AI plans Apple announced at the 2024 edition of its WWDC event will be seen as a pivotal event for the company,” Dave said. “Most of Wall Street, as usual, just didn’t get it. Hindsight may well be 20-20. But the short-sighted Wall Streeters get a minus-three score here for their lack of insight, inability to imagine – and failure to fully grasp the significance of a truly significant event.”
Wow.
The fact is – when it comes to Apple, Dave is a guy you should listen to. Remember: He’s been chronicling Apple’s moves since the middle 1990s. And, back in his business journalist days, Dave had a one-on-one, in-person interview with Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak.
In the two “Walkup to WWDC” reports we’ve done here at Stock Picker’s Corner (SPC) — a video interview followed by this special briefing — Dave made three big predictions.
He said that:
Apple’s strategy would be “platform-based” — meaning the iDevice King will treat its vaunted “ecosystem” itself as the platform … which it will infuse with AI technology.
The company is nowhere near as far behind as the gloom-and-doomers would have you believe — and this platform strategy coupled with more than 2 billion devices in use will actually become a competitive advantage.
And that the events announced at WWDC would help put the company back on a growth path.
Dave actually included a fourth prediction of sorts: That whatever the company announced would be treated with disappointment – at least in the near term.
He was right on all counts.
As I said, Dave put together a nifty assessment of what Apple announced on Monday. It’s one you need to read if:
You own the stock.
Are thinking about investing in Apple.
Want to understand how AI will affect Apple’s devices and services.
Or are looking at other AI-related wealth plays.
Not everyone is bearish on Apple. There are others who – like Dave – believe the company can get back on a growth path.
For instance, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said that “Apple is taking the right path to implement AI across its ecosystem while laying out the foundation for the company’s multi-year AI strategy.”
Last week, ahead of the WWDC event, Ives said the company’s AI game plan could (eventually) add $30 a share to $40 a share to Apple’s stock price.
And here at SPC, we like growth initiatives and long-term outlooks. That’s why we invested so much time this year creating our “Apple Next Act Trilogy” – consisting of:
Apple’s Next Act Part I: A Heady Vision – where we delve into the vastly underrated-and-misunderstood plan to bolster its vaunted ecosystem by creating the Vision Pro headset.
Apple’s Next Act Part II: Keeping That Doctor Away – where we investigate the current status and future upside of the company’s data-driven foray into health.
And Apple’s Next Act Part III: Apple’s Blueprint and the Great AI Event – where I interviewed Dave about how AI could work across the entire Apple ecosystem.
“I’ve been following this company for a long, long time — so I can say with certainty and authority that far too many investors are sleeping on Apple’s long-term prospects,” Dave told me. “AI is the story of the moment. But it’s not the ONLY story. I believe in Apple’s data story. I believe in Apple’s health story. And, Bill … I kinda dig the headset. It meshes perfectly with the AI push. I know your thesis here is that powerful stories lead to powerful stock plays. This is a powerful story.”
Don’t forget to check out Dave’s new report: “What Wall Street Is Missing About Apple’s Just-Revealed Plan for AI.”
And you can also check out what he told me about Bitcoin (see report below).
I’ll see you back here next time.
