France’s Stock Market is Being Overshadowed by Apple’s Immense Size
Apple Inc., the world’s most valuable publicly traded company, continues to surge without any indication of slowing down. Following its record-breaking close on Wednesday, the market value of the iPhone maker is nearing that of France, Europe’s largest stock market.
According to an index compiled by Bloomberg, the combined market capitalization of Paris-listed companies was about $3.2 trillion at Wednesday’s close, compared with $3.1 trillion for the tech giant. Apple is bigger than all but the six largest stock markets in the world.
This isn’t the first time the Cupertino, California-based company has overtaken Paris in terms of value. The two swapped positions several times during the sell-off in the second half of last year as central banks raised interest rates to curb inflation.
The French stock market itself is at record highs this week with luxury goods companies including Louis Vuitton owner LVMH and Birkin bag maker Hermes International SCA. Stocks pulled back from mid-summer, but rallied again in recent weeks as evidence of inflation is cooling and thus interest rates may have peaked with no sign of a recession in the US.
In the United States, the same background has led to a new rise in technology stocks, especially in the largest companies. Apple has risen more than 50% in 2023 and added about a trillion dollars in market value. Shares rose as much as 0.8% to $199.62 on Thursday, setting a new intraday all-time high.
Apple’s recent rise is a big turnaround compared to October, when the stock was weighed down by concerns about revenue growth and sales in China.
“Share bears are missing from the structural gross margin growth story,” Citigroup Inc. analyst Atif Malik wrote in a note, citing iPhone’s premium positioning, accelerating services sales and commodity price advantages. “We expect the above trends to continue next year, and see the introduction of AI Phones and Vision Pro as potential upside catalysts,” he said, targeting a profit of $230 a share.
Wall Street predicts the company’s revenue will pick up again in 2024 as demand for smartphones, laptops and computers recover, according to an average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
