Shares of Apple (AAPL 0.01%) were on a tear Tuesday morning, with the stock adding as much as 6.7%. As of 1:53 p.m. ET, the stock was still up 6.2%.
The catalyst that sent the iPhone maker higher was the company's big artificial intelligence (AI) reveal to kick off Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC).
NASDAQ: AAPL
Key Data Points
The long-awaited announcement
Investors have been waiting since early last year for insight into Apple's plans to join the AI revolution. At the WWDC keynote yesterday, CEO Tim Cook finally detailed the company's plans, and Wall Street's response was extremely bullish.
The biggest revelation was the debut of Apple Intelligence, which will provide on-device generative AI processing across the company's entire product line while also maintaining Apple's famous emphasis on security.
Siri will get a long-awaited AI upgrade and have a greater ability to interact with other iPhone apps. ChatGPT will also be integrated into the iPhone, giving users the option to engage the chatbot for specific topics. Apple also unveiled a host of other AI-powered features that will debut with iOS 18, which will be released this fall.
Wall Street is once again bullish on Apple
Many investors had taken a "wait and see" approach with Apple, worried about waning sales of its flagship iPhone. However, in the wake of the company's presentation, Wall Street has turned decidedly bullish.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives expressed the prevailing sentiment, suggesting the addition of these new tools to the iPhone will spark "an AI-driven iPhone upgrade cycle starting with iPhone 16." The analyst also suggested AI will add $30 to $40 per share to Apple's growth story.
Even as big tech has staged a significant rally over the past year, Apple's stock has been the outlier, up just 7%, compared to 25% gains for the S&P 500. A laundry list of AI-powered features will likely mark the dawn of the next upgrade cycle, boosting the company's results and putting Apple back in investors' good graces.
