Jim Cramer Admits Apple (AAPL) is a ‘Changing Story’ - Yahoo Finance

We recently published a list of Jim Cramer November Portfolio: Top 10 Stocks. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stands against the other stocks in Jim Cramer’s November Portfolio.

Stock markets are roaring amid Donald Trump’s victory. Jim Cramer, who has long believed that Trump’s presidency would bode well for the stock market, earlier this week discussed the market’s reaction when chances of a Kamala Harris win were apparently rising. Looking back at Cramer’s analysis in hindsight gives us a nice overview of what groups of stocks could rise in the coming weeks and months.

Jim Cramer on Monday evening analyzed what caused the market to dip as of the closing session. Cramer believed the chances of Iowa turning blue spooked some market circles on various assumptions:

“Let’s start with the most incredible reactions, the bond market. Interest rates went sharply lower today. Now, see, I’m so used to higher, to interest rates going higher in a Democratic win, that this took me by surprise. It’s completely out of character. But the bond market is steep, and its judgment is not made on a whim. There had to be billions of dollars invested today on rates going lower if Harris wins the election. I find that astonishing.”

Cramer then talked about different groups of stocks that moved based on the sentiment that Harris could win this election. Housing stocks rose because the market is bullish based on potential subsidies if Harris wins. Tech stocks, however, fell, and Cramer explained the reason behind that:

“(hyper scalers and tech stocks) traded horribly today. What does it say? It says the traders are betting that Harris will stand by Biden’s FTC and antitrust appointments who are known to be anti-the hyper scalers,” Cramer added.

For this article we watched some latest programs of Jim Cramer and picked 10 stocks he’s talking about. With each company we have mentioned its hedge fund sentiment.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Jim Cramer Admits Apple (AAPL) is a ‘Changing Story’

A wide view of an Apple store, showing the range of products the company offers.

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 184

Jim Cramer in a latest program on CNBC talked about Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) results and admitted that iPhones will no longer be the centerpiece of the stock’s thesis in the future:

“And they gave us a guide down. Even as I say own it, don’t trade it, I recognize the consensus going into next quarter was 6.8% growth, which was not going to be met. I told you this repeatedly; I told you that it was way too high. I said the stock would go down. Apple’s looking for low to mid single-digit growth now. It’s exactly as I said. But to me, Apple’s a changing story. It’s going to be less about the release of the iPhone and more about the software.”

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) recently posted decent quarterly results but concerns remain around its iPhone 16 sales and growth. Analysts are deeply divided on this stock. Morgan Stanley recently called Apple’s current position “challenging,” with KeyBanc and TF International Securities expressing concerns over iPhone sales volume. KeyBanc downgraded Apple to “underweight” with a $200 price target. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives remains bullish, reiterating his view that Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) could reach a $4 trillion market cap.

Recently, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) reclaimed a top-5 position in China’s smartphone market, its 15.6% market share is still down from last year, especially against Huawei, which surged with over 40% growth. Xiaomi also continues to challenge Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s competitive edge. Notably, the iPhone 16 had only about three weeks of Q3 sales, yet didn’t lift Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s market share for the quarter, despite expectations for initial sales to be strong.

In the latest earnings call, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook highlighted new features for the iPhone, such as a more comfortable watch band and sleep apnea detection, but none appeared to be major demand drivers for new customers.

Wedgewood Partners stated the following regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

“Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) also contributed to performance as investors continued to favorably discount the recent unveiling of its AI strategy. As we have noted in the past, the Company has been at the forefront of proprietary semiconductor computer processor development for well over a decade. Given the compute-intensive nature of AI applications, Apple is well situated to develop a suite of compelling, consumer-friendly AI services that are also cost-effective. Apple’s AI value proposition should compel consumers to continue growing their engagement in the Apple ecosystem over the next several years.”

Overall, AAPL ranks 5th on our list of the stocks in Jim Cramer’s November Portfolio. While we acknowledge the potential of AAPL, our conviction lies in the belief that under the radar AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AAPL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.