Apple (US:AAPL) always exudes an air of calm. The world's largest company is even taking a relatively relaxed approach to the world's most high profile new technology. On its third-quarter earnings call earlier this month, artificial intelligence (AI) was mentioned just nine times. By contrast, at Alphabet (US:GOOGL) the topic was referenced 76 times, with 62 mentions at Microsoft (US:MSFT) and 46 at Amazon (US:AMZN).
Apple is investing in AI, but it is never one to rush. Patience will also be required for another reason: because it is attempting to transition from being predominantly a hardware company to an even higher margin software service business, and navigate the threats to its operations that are now emerging.
Investors of all kinds have a lot riding on the company's ability to do this. Apple's success means that it is difficult to avoid exposure to the company's shares, even if you want to do so. Over 7 per cent of any S&P 500 tracker fund is held in the company, while it also has a 5 per cent weighting in the MSCI World index. These weights are not just a factor for passive investors: active funds find it difficult to take a zero weight in such a large company, and private stockpickers will be similarly conscious of the risk of underperformance if they shun the stock. This year alone, Apple's share price has risen over 40 per cent.