On June 10, 2024, Apple CEO Cook made a gesture at the annual developers conference held at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, USA.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
apple The company’s shares closed up 7% on Tuesday, hitting a new record high of $207.15 a share, a day after the company announced its long-awaited push into artificial intelligence at its annual developer conference on Monday.
Apple unveiled a slew of new artificial intelligence features during the event, including overhauls of its voice assistant Siri, integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, a range of writing aids and new customizable emojis. The company positions these features as artificial intelligence for everyday people, although users may need to upgrade their iPhones to access these tools.
With Tuesday’s stock price action, Apple refreshed its all-time record set on December 14th. .
Analysts at Morgan Stanley said Apple’s artificial intelligence capabilities make the company “the most differentiated consumer digital agent.” Additionally, analysts believe these features will prompt consumers to upgrade their iPhones, which should “speed up device replacement cycles.”
They said Apple still has to deliver when AI capabilities first roll out in the fall, but they believe “the foundations are in place to resume growth and more sustained outperformance.”
“After unveiling key details at WWDC that we focused on at the event, we are even more convinced that Apple is on the cusp of a multi-year product refresh, supporting our OW rating, $216 price target and $270 bull case Valuation,” analysts wrote in a note on Tuesday.
Bank of America analysts were also optimistic about Apple’s announcement, saying the features would lead to “an upgrade cycle for AI-enabled Intel iPhones.” Analysts maintain a Buy rating on the stock due to the promise of a multi-year upgrade cycle, the potential for gross margin expansion and services growth.
Evercore analysts said they left the meeting with “increased confidence” in Apple’s artificial intelligence strategy, particularly because they believe it will drive users to upgrade their devices.
“Limiting Apple Intelligence to iPhones sold in the last year reinforces our belief that artificial intelligence can help kick off the iPhone super cycle,” analysts said in a note on Monday.
—CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report
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