Can Apple Stock Help You Retire a Millionaire?

It cannot be denied Apple (AAPL 0.36%) was one of the most profitable shares on the market of the modern era. A $10,000 investment in this popular tech giant 20 years ago would be worth nearly $2.5 million today. Mostly credit for the invention of the iPhone.

However, the argument that Apple’s peak growth days are over is a reasonable one. Neither iPhone revenue nor unit sales of the popular smartphone are growing, and it alone still accounts for roughly half of the company’s revenue and earnings. While its services department is respectable, it’s just not the growth driver that the iPhone was a few years ago.

Maybe investors maybe find better opportunities than this.

Before you put Apple back on the shelf to eventually be forgotten, you might want to take a closer look at the company’s foreseeable future. The tech giant still has a few tricks up its sleeve that could help turn shareholders into millionaires.

AI will revive the stagnant iPhone business

Don’t misread the message. It is unlikely that Apple shares will be able to catch another wave similar to the one that occurred in 2007, when the first iPhone was introduced. The iPhone was a unique product in a generation that will never be completely replaced as a profit center.

Even halving Apple’s stock gains over the past 20 years over the next 20 years would still make it a better performer than most other tickers are likely to perform over that period. The necessary growth drivers are certainly there.

One of them is, of course, appearance artificial intelligence.

Although Apple was late to the AI ​​party, it has made up for lost time with arguably a better, easier-to-use solution. Its so-called Apple Intelligence provides users with powerful generative AI tools such as email summarization, writing and photo cleaning tools, and turns Siri into a full-fledged digital assistant. Also, this digital-intensive work is done by the device itself, rather than offloading those duties to a cloud platform and then sending the information back to the iPhone or iPad being used. This will certainly speed up the use of AI. It could also make it better, finally igniting investor interest in such technology, which until now has been nothing but idle.

And it required demand will be eventually materialize too… at least according to technologies IDC Marketing Research Division. According to forecasts, sales of AI-enabled smartphones will reach 234 million units this year, but will grow to 912 million such mobile devices in 2028. Consumers just need a little more time to see the value of these AI tools.

Getting into the data center business?

However, it’s not just the consumer side of the AI ​​revolution that could prop up Apple stock in the near term. The company is also diving deeper into the chip manufacturing business.

Years ago, Apple was content to use the readily available semiconductors for hardware like Mac, then iPhone, then iPad. However, over time she was able to demand additional adjustments to her silicon, most of which were based on Arm Holdings‘ ARM processor architecture. Now—with the benefit of being clear—the company mostly designs its own chips and hires third-party manufacturers to build them to specifications.

However, this is not the most interesting part of evolution. It’s worth noting how the company might intend to use these semiconductors. While some of this basic research and development can certainly be found in the latest iPhones and iPads, there is a hint that Apple is actually developing processors for use in artificial intelligence. data centerscreating conditions for entering waters deeper into which, it seemed, would not be very interesting.

Apple itself hasn’t said much on the matter, so take this suggestion with a grain of salt. Of course, the company won’t say much, even if it plans to become a major player in the AI ​​data center. It will only confirm this when it is ready for full launch.

One thing’s for sure, though: if Apple wanted to dive headfirst into the AI ​​data center industry, it has the technological know-how to make a big splash. Or he could do something alongside that business that might turn out to be even more marketable, with less competition.

Whatever opportunity presents itself, at stake is a slice of the AI ​​data center market, which research firm Lucintel predicts will grow at a 22.5% annual rate through 2030.

Definitely worth having

Then again, there will never be another iPhone, and therefore never another wave of revenue and profit growth like the one it sparked for Apple. As the old saying goes, lightning never strikes the same place twice.

However, there is an underappreciated opportunity ahead for current and potential Apple shareholders. It’s just different from what drove these stocks up significantly in the recent (and not so) past. Apple has evolved, and rightfully so. Indeed, in an environment where too many companies are either unwilling or unable to grow, the fact that Apple can — and does — makes the case that it can help you reach seven-figure savings.