How to Trade Apple After Fiscal Q3 2024 Performance

Apple has been making the headlines in recent months with the launch of its new iPhone 16 and newly incorporated AI features. The biggest headline has been Warren Buffett's sale of 510 million Apple shares which is around half of his entire stake in the company. 

Learn more about Apple's fiscal third-quarter 2024 performance and what analysts forecast for the stock.

• The Invest.MT5 account allows you to buy real stocks and shares from some of the largest stock exchanges in the world.

All trading is high risk and you can lose more than you risk on a trade. Never invest more than you can afford to lose, as some trades will lose and some trades will win. Start small to understand your own risk tolerance levels or practice on a demo account first to build your knowledge before investing.

Apple Fiscal Q3 2024 Performance

Here are some of the key highlights from the fiscal third-quarter 2024 earnings report from Apple: 

• Earnings per share of $1.40 vs $1.35 expected 
• Revenue of $85.78 billion vs $84.53 billion expected 
• iPhone revenue of $39.30 billion vs $38.81 billion expected 
• iPad revenue of $7.16 billion vs $6.61 billion expected 
• Mac revenue of $7.01 billion vs $7.02 billion expected 
• Services revenue of $24.21 billion vs$24.01 billion expected 
• Wearables, home and accessories revenue of $8.10 billion vs $7.79 billion expected 

Apple reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations on most revenue streams. The slight dip in Mac revenue has been offset by outperformance in most other divisions. Overall revenue was up 5% with chief financial officer Luca Maestri stating they expect similar growth in the current quarter. 

iPhone revenue accounted for around 46% of the company's total sales during the quarter. The focus has been on its new Apple Intelligence service but it's too early to determine the sales impact from it. Unfortunately, the new iPhone 16 launch will be shipped without this new AI technology, which will be released later in the year.  

For this reason, Apple saw nearly $94 billion wiped off its valuation after analysts warned that demand for its new iPhone will be weaker than expected as consumers wait for the new AI features. The services are due to launch in the US in the next few weeks for a 'beta' test with the launch of a localised version in the UK in December. European countries and other regions will have to wait until 2024.  

Apple's third largest market is China where its market share has been declining. It dropped out of being a top five smartphone earlier in the year as the Chinese focused on local brands like Huawei instead. Earnings results showed a decline of 6.5% in sales from China - a larger than expected decline of 2.4%. This also contributed to a fall in its share price.  

The mixed fortune for Apple is why some analysts have turned to a hold rating on the stock with one analyst turning to a sell rating, as highlighted below.

Apple Stock Forecast - What do the Analysts Say?

According to 33 analysts polled by TipRanks for an Apple stock forecast in the past 3 months, there are currently 24 buy, 8 hold and 1 sell ratings on the stock. The highest price level for a Apple stock forecast is $300.00 with the lowest price target at $186.00. 

The average price target for a Apple stock forecast is $249.83.

An Example Trading Idea for the Apple Stock Price

An example trading idea for the Apple share price could be as follows:  

• Buy the stock on a break above $234.00 to allow for volatility. 
• Target just below the highest analyst price target of $300.00. 
• Keep your risk small at a maximum of 5% of your total account.   
• Time Line = 1 – 6 months  
• If you buy 10 Apple shares:  
  • If target is reached = $660.00 potential profit [($300.00 - $234.00) * 10 shares].

Remember that markets go up and down and it is unlikely the share price will move up in a straight line. In fact, it may even go much further down before it rises, especially as there are now more hold and sell ratings on the stock by several analysts and demand for its largest earning, the iPhone, is set to weaken.

Be sure to exercise good risk management and always know how much you could potentially lose on a trade and the risks involved, as well as the costs.

With the Admiral Markets Invest.MT5 account you can buy and sell US stocks with a commission from $0.02 per share. This means buying 10 shares in Apple stock would result in a commission of $0.20 ($0.02 * 10 shares) for executing a per-side transaction.

However, there is a low minimum transaction fee of $1. So, the example trading idea above would result in a commission of just $1 overall.

How to Buy Apple Stock in 4 Steps  

With Admiral Markets, you can buy shares with a commission of just $0.02 per share and a low minimum commission of just $1 on US stocks. 

1. Open an account with Admiral Markets to access the dashboard.
2. Click on Trade or Invest on one of your live or demo accounts to open the web platform.
3. Search for your stock in the search window at the top.
4. Input your entry, stop-loss and take profit levels in the trading ticket. 

Click on the banner below to trade Apple stock today ▼▼▼ 

Do You See the Apple Stock Price Moving Differently?   

Remember that all analytics and trading ideas are based on the personal view and experience of the author.

If you believe there is a higher chance Apple share price will move lower, then you can also trade short from a CFD (Contracts for Difference) trading account which Admiral Markets also provide.

The Trade.MT5 and Trade.MT4 account allows you to speculate on the price direction of stocks and shares using CFDs.

This means you can trade long and short to potentially profit from rising and falling stock prices.

INFORMATION ABOUT ANALYTICAL MATERIALS: 

The given data provides additional information regarding all analysis, estimates, prognosis, forecasts, market reviews, weekly outlooks or other similar assessments or information (hereinafter “Analysis”) published on the websites of Admiral Markets investment firms operating under the Admiral Markets trademark (hereinafter “Admiral Markets”) Before making any investment decisions please pay close attention to the following: 

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• The Analysis is prepared by an independent analyst Jitanchandra Solanki, Freelance Contributor (hereinafter "Author") based on personal estimations.
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