How Much Is Apple Worth?

Apple is one of the world’s largest companies — the seventh largest on the 2022 Fortune Global 500 list, in fact, and it is arguably the most well-known technology brand. In August 2020, Apple became the second company in the world to hit the $2 trillion value mark, behind Saudi Arabia’s Aramco. Apple briefly hit a $3 trillion market cap on Jan. 3 — making it the first public company ever to do so.

Released on Oct. 27, Apple’s fourth-quarter 2022 earnings surpassed analysts’ expectations. The company posted revenue of $90.15 billion, which was an 8.1% increase compared to the same quarter last year. These impressive results are just a piece of the puzzle in terms of evaluating Apple’s worth, however.

To see how much Apple is worth, take a look at this snapshot of the company’s current state, along with a discussion of the company’s history, value and future outlook.

What Is Apple’s Net Worth?

In its simplest form, a company’s net worth is its assets minus its liabilities. Shareholders’ equity, which likewise equals total assets minus total liabilities, is essentially a company’s net worth. Apple’s total shareholders’ equity at the end of its fiscal year 2022 was $50.67 billion.

How Much Is Apple Worth Now?

Many companies and individuals suffered during the coronavirus pandemic, but Apple continued to shine. The company stock split 4-to-1 in August 2020. Shares saw record highs that year and in each of the two years since.

From a 52-week (as of Jan. 4) low of $116.21, Apple stock reached its highest-ever price of $182.94 on Jan. 4. The company’s market capitalization was $2.93 trillion on that day. Shares have fallen 26% since then, dragging the market cap down to $2.22 trillion as of Nov. 3.

What Is Market Capitalization?

Market capitalization is simply the number of outstanding stock shares a company has issued times its current market price. So, for example, if a company has issued one million shares of stock and its share price is $50, the company has a market capitalization of $50 million. Apple currently has about 15.91 billion shares outstanding, so 15.91 billion times the stock price of $139.91 as of Nov. 3 equals about $2.22 trillion.

Market cap does have its drawbacks as an evaluation method, however. For starters, market cap changes frequently, and it’s closely tied to the company’s current share price. It doesn’t take into account any of the direct financial metrics of the company, such as earnings per share, growth rate or book value.

By way of comparison, the price-earnings ratio, which is another popular valuation method, is also closely tied to a company’s market share price. The P/E ratio also relies heavily on a company’s earnings, which some investors feel is a more important determinant of a company’s valuation. As of Nov. 3, Apple’s P/E ratio is 22.80.

Apple’s Founders

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak met through a mutual friend and bonded over their love of technology. The two Steves co-founded Apple in 1976, laying the foundation for what would become one of the world’s most profitable companies, according to the Fortune Global 500 list.

Jobs would ultimately be fired from his own company in 1985, an anecdote he shared in his famous 2005 Stanford commencement address along with his comeback story. Tim Cook was named CEO in August 2011.

According to Forbes, Jobs’ net worth at the time of his death in 2011 was $7 billion. Cook’s net worth is $1.8 billion as of Nov. 3, according to the Real-Time Billionaires List by Forbes.

Key Product Lines Contributing to Revenue

Apple is a consumer products juggernaut. It makes a wide variety of communications devices, personal computers and other technological gadgets. Some of its most well-known products are household names, including the following:

• iPad

• iPhone

• Mac

• Apple Watch

• Apple TV

The company also offers services ranging from iCloud to Apple Pay, among others.

Here are some of the earnings highlights from Apple’s fourth quarter of 2022:

• Revenue was up a record 8% year over year.

• Quarterly earnings per share were a record $1.29, up 4% year over year.

• Over $29 billion was returned to shareholders during the quarter.

• The installed base of active users reached all-time highs for all major product categories.

Apple’s Top 10 Shareholders

The top 10 shareholders of Apple stock are all asset managers or mutual fund companies. As a group, institutional shareholders own 60.19% of all Apple shares. Here’s what the top shareholders list looks like:

Any of these shareholder percentages can change at any time, even dropping down all the way to 0%. Apple is a perennial Wall Street favorite, so these percentages may hold, but if the company’s fortunes turn sour, institutions may bail out at any time.

How Does the Future Look for Apple?

All things considered — inflation and a bear market, to name two — Apple is having a good run so far in 2022, but the company has been a long-term success story as well. With a rabidly loyal consumer base and a wildly popular product line, Apple’s business model seems poised for further growth in the future.

In the shorter term, Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said during an earnings call that the company expects revenue — Mac revenue in particular — to slow in the December quarter compared to the September quarter. Growth in Services revenue, which fell short of analyst expectations in the September quarter, will “be impacted by the macroeconomic environment increasingly affecting foreign exchange, digital advertising and gaming,” Maestri said.

However, Cook is optimistic for what lies ahead this quarter. “As we head into the holiday season with our most powerful lineup ever, we are leading with our values in every action we take and every decision we make,” Cook said in a press release.

The consensus rating from 32 of 38 analysts covering Apple stock is “buy” or “strong buy,” with the rest rating Apple a “hold.” The composite price target is $179.92, according to Yahoo Finance. If the company continues to post record revenues and avoids a major misstep with its product line, its success seems likely to continue.

Is Apple Worth the Money?

As a dyed-in-the-wool blue-chip stock, Apple has been a great bet. But with a stock price that has appreciated significantly over the year, it can no longer be considered “cheap.” However, analysts still rate the stock a “buy” or “strong buy,” and momentum may keep pushing this stock higher.

Daria Uhlig, Cynthia Bowman and Sean Dennison contributed to the reporting for this article.

Data is accurate as of Nov. 3, 2022, and is subject to change.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Much Is Apple Worth?