MMarketMath

AAPL

StalwartQuality: High (87/100)1 red flag

Apple Inc. · Information Technology · Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals

$310.34

52w 224.69 – 344.57

20y monthly, adjusted

Mkt cap

$4.53T

P/E

40.3

P/FCF

45.7

FCF yield

2.2%

ROE

151.9%

Shldr yield

2.4%

div 0.3% + bb 2.0%

What today's price assumes

At $4.53T, the market is pricing in 19.0% annual free-cash-flow growth for the next decade (10% discount rate, 2.5% terminal growth). Over the last ten years, FCF actually grew 3.5% per year — the price asks for acceleration beyond the historical record.

Simple DCF per-share range: $99 · $99 · $124 (4% / base / optimistic growth). An estimate, not a target.

Adjust the assumptions yourself →

Historical multiple lens

At its own median P/OCF of 13.4× across 19 years, AAPL would trade near $102/share (25th–75th percentile: $65–$178); it trades at 40.6× today.

Assumes the historical multiple regime persists — re-ratings can be permanent.

Growth record

Compound annual growth rates from as-filed 10-K data, split-adjusted

Rev 3y

+1.8%

Rev 5y

+8.7%

Rev 10y

+5.9%

EPS 5y

+17.9%

EPS 10y

+11.9%

FCF 5y

+6.1%

FCF 10y

+3.5%

Fundamentals

Fiscal 2007–2025, from SEC filings

Revenue

2007: $24.6B
2008: $37.5B
2009: $42.9B
2010: $65.2B
2011: $108.2B
2012: $156.5B
2013: $170.9B
2014: $182.8B
2015: $233.7B
2016: $215.6B
2017: $229.2B
2018: $265.6B
2019: $260.2B
2020: $274.5B
2021: $365.8B
2022: $394.3B
2023: $383.3B
2024: $391.0B
2025: $416.2B
$0$200.0B$400.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Net income

2007: $3.5B
2008: $6.1B
2009: $8.2B
2010: $14.0B
2011: $25.9B
2012: $41.7B
2013: $37.0B
2014: $39.5B
2015: $53.4B
2016: $45.7B
2017: $48.4B
2018: $59.5B
2019: $55.3B
2020: $57.4B
2021: $94.7B
2022: $99.8B
2023: $97.0B
2024: $93.7B
2025: $112.0B
$0$50.0B$100.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Free cash flow

2007: $4.7B
2008: $8.5B
2009: $9.0B
2010: $16.6B
2011: $33.3B
2012: $42.6B
2013: $45.5B
2014: $50.1B
2015: $70.0B
2016: $53.5B
2017: $51.8B
2018: $64.1B
2019: $58.9B
2020: $73.4B
2021: $93.0B
2022: $111.4B
2023: $99.6B
2024: $108.8B
2025: $98.8B
$0$50.0B$100.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Diluted shares (lower is better)

2007: 23.9B
2008: 24.3B
2009: 24.4B
2010: 24.9B
2011: 25.2B
2012: 25.2B
2013: 24.8B
2014: 23.3B
2015: 22.1B
2016: 20.9B
2017: 20.0B
2018: 20.0B
2019: 18.6B
2020: 17.5B
2021: 16.9B
2022: 16.3B
2023: 15.8B
2024: 15.4B
2025: 15.0B
010.0B20.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Margins

20%30%40%07101316192225
Net marginFCF marginGross margin

Capital returned (dividends + buybacks)

2011: $0
2012: $0
2013: $33.4B
2014: $56.0B
2015: $46.8B
2016: $41.7B
2017: $45.5B
2018: $86.5B
2019: $81.0B
2020: $86.4B
2021: $100.4B
2022: $104.2B
2023: $92.6B
2024: $110.2B
2025: $106.1B
$0$50.0B$100.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Cash vs long-term debt

$0$50.0B$100.0B07101316192225
CashLT debt

Quarterly

Discrete quarters from 10-Q filings; Q4 derived as fiscal year minus Q1–Q3. OCF is unwound from the year-to-date figures 10-Qs report. Compare to the same quarter a year ago — most businesses are seasonal.

Revenue by quarter

Q3'23: $81.8B
Q4'23: $89.5B
Q1'24: $119.6B
Q2'24: $90.8B
Q3'24: $85.8B
Q4'24: $94.9B
Q1'25: $124.3B
Q2'25: $95.4B
Q3'25: $94.0B
Q4'25: $102.5B
Q1'26: $143.8B
Q2'26: $111.2B
Q3'26: $109.4B
$0$50.0B$100.0B
23
24
25
25
26

Net income by quarter

Q3'23: $19.9B
Q4'23: $23.0B
Q1'24: $33.9B
Q2'24: $23.6B
Q3'24: $21.4B
Q4'24: $14.7B
Q1'25: $36.3B
Q2'25: $24.8B
Q3'25: $23.4B
Q4'25: $27.5B
Q1'26: $42.1B
Q2'26: $29.6B
Q3'26: $29.8B
$0$20.0B$40.0B
23
24
25
25
26
QuarterRevenueYoYNet incomeYoYEPSOCF
Q3'26$109.4B+16.4%$29.8B+27.1%2.02$34.4B
Q2'26$111.2B+16.6%$29.6B+19.4%2.01$28.7B
Q1'26$143.8B+15.7%$42.1B+15.9%2.84$53.9B
Q4'25 *$102.5B+7.9%$27.5B+86.4%1.84$29.7B
Q3'25$94.0B+9.6%$23.4B+9.3%1.57$27.9B
Q2'25$95.4B+5.1%$24.8B+4.8%1.65$24.0B
Q1'25$124.3B+4.0%$36.3B+7.1%2.40$29.9B
Q4'24 *$94.9B+6.1%$14.7B−35.8%0.97$26.8B
Q3'24$85.8B+4.9%$21.4B+7.9%1.40$28.9B
Q2'24$90.8B−4.3%$23.6B−2.2%1.53$22.7B
Q1'24$119.6B+2.1%$33.9B+13.1%2.18$39.9B
Q4'23 *$89.5B−0.7%$23.0B+10.8%1.47$21.6B
Q3'23$81.8B−1.4%$19.9B+2.3%1.26$26.4B

Track record

Compound annual growth by period. For debt and share count, negative is the good direction.

Series3y5y10y15y
Revenue+1.8%+8.7%+5.9%+13.2%
Operating cash flow−3.0%+6.7%+3.2%+12.7%
Free cash flow−3.9%+6.1%+3.5%+12.6%
EPS (diluted)+6.9%+17.9%+11.9%+18.8%
Equity+13.3%+2.4%−4.7%+2.9%
LT debt−7.5%−4.5%+3.9%
Diluted shares−2.8%−3.1%−3.8%−3.3%
Stock price+18.7%+15.9%+29.0%+24.6%

$100, 3 years ago

$167vs $176 in SPY

18.7% vs 20.7%/yr

$100, 5 years ago

$209vs $181 in SPY

15.9% vs 12.6%/yr

$100, 10 years ago

$1,278vs $412 in SPY

29.0% vs 15.2%/yr

$100, 15 years ago

$2,694vs $813 in SPY

24.6% vs 15.0%/yr

The $1 test — market value created per $1 of earnings retained (Buffett's hurdle: at least $1)

Last 5 years

$5.20

$2.19T created / $422.2B retained

Last 10 years

$5.55

$3.45T created / $622.0B retained

Quality & capital discipline

Cash-based returns and how management deploys capital

Cash ROIC

73.3%

OCF ÷ (equity + debt)

OCF / EV yield

2.4%

MC vs 10× OCF

4.05

≤1 = priced under 10× OCF

Debt / FCF

0.8y

SBC / FCF

13.0%

Owner earnings

$85.9B

OCF − capex − SBC

OE yield

1.9%

Share count 5y

−2.6%

per year; negative = buybacks

Capital intensity

12.0%

net PP&E ÷ revenue

Sales efficiency

$0.09

new PP&E per $1 new revenue, 5y

Checklist

19 of 26 checks pass · 73%. Checks with structurally missing inputs are excluded.

Growth & Consistency

6/7

  • Revenue growth

    8.7% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • EPS growth

    17.9% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • FCF growth

    6.1% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • Revenue rises consistently

    7 of 9 · up in ≥ 7 of last 10 years

    pass
  • FCF consistently positive

    10 of 10 · positive in ≥ 8 of last 10 years

    pass
  • Profitable every year

    10 of 10 · net income > 0 in ≥ 8 of last 10

    pass
  • Cash flow keeps up with sales

    6.7% vs 8.7% · OCF CAGR ≥ 0.9× revenue CAGR

    fail

Profitability

6/7

  • Net margin

    26.9% · ≥ 8%

    pass
  • Operating margin

    32.0% · ≥ 10%

    pass
  • Gross margin stable or rising

    46.9% vs 43.3% · no drop > 2 pts over 3y

    pass
  • Return on equity

    151.9% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • Cash ROIC

    73.3% · ≥ 12%

    pass
  • FCF margin

    23.7% · ≥ 5%

    pass
  • Earnings back their cash

    OCF $111.5B vs NI $112.0B · OCF ≥ net income (latest FY)

    fail

Balance Sheet

3/4

  • Debt payable from cash flow

    0.8y · LT debt ≤ 3× FCF

    pass
  • Cash cushion

    46% · cash ≥ 50% of LT debt

    fail
  • Leverage

    1.06 · LT debt ≤ 1.5× equity

    pass
  • Equity positive and compounding

    $73.7B · equity > 0 and grew over ~5y

    pass
  • Interest burden

    · interest ≤ 15% of operating income

    na

Capital Allocation

3/4

  • Share count flat or shrinking

    -2.6% · ≤ +0.5%/yr over ~5y

    pass
  • Stock comp restrained

    13% · SBC ≤ 15% of FCF

    pass
  • Distributions funded by FCF

    107% · dividends + buybacks ≤ 100% of FCF

    fail
  • Repurchases are a habit

    10 of 10 · buybacks in ≥ 5 of last 10 years

    pass

Valuation Discipline

1/4

  • FCF yield

    2.2% · ≥ 3%

    fail
  • Earnings multiple

    40.3 · P/E ≤ 25

    fail
  • Price asks less than history delivered

    19.0% vs 3.5% · implied FCF growth ≤ historical FCF CAGR

    fail
  • Shareholder yield

    2.4% · dividends + buybacks ≥ 2% of market cap

    pass

Red flags

Mechanical checks — a flag is a question to investigate, not a verdict

Distributions exceed FCF

Dividends plus buybacks exceeded free cash flow in the latest fiscal year.

Financial data

As filed in 10-Ks; per-share figures split-adjusted. $ in millions.

FYRevenueGross profitOp incomeNet incomeEPSOCFCapExFCFDividendsBuybacksSBCCashLT debtEquityShares
2025416,161195,201133,050112,0107.46111,48212,71598,76715,42190,71112,86335,93478,32873,73315,005
2024391,035180,683123,21693,7366.08118,2549,447108,80715,23494,94911,68829,94385,75056,95015,408
2023383,285169,148114,30196,9956.13110,54310,95999,58415,02577,55010,83329,96595,28162,14615,813
2022394,328170,782119,43799,8036.11122,15110,708111,44314,84189,4029,03823,64698,95950,67216,326
2021365,817152,836108,94994,6805.61104,03811,08592,95314,46785,9717,90634,940109,10663,09016,865
2020274,515104,95666,28857,4113.2880,6747,30973,36514,08172,3586,82938,01698,66765,33917,528
2019260,17498,39263,93055,2562.9769,39110,49558,89614,11966,8976,06848,84491,80790,48818,596
2018265,595101,83970,89859,5312.9877,43413,31364,12113,71272,7385,34025,91393,735107,14720,000
2017229,23488,18661,34448,3512.4264,22512,45151,77412,56332,9004,84020,28997,207134,04720,000
2016215,63984,26360,02445,6872.1866,23112,73453,49711,96529,7224,21020,48475,427128,24920,947
2015233,71593,62671,23053,3942.4281,26611,24770,01911,56135,2533,58621,12053,329119,35522,062
2014182,79570,53752,50339,5101.6959,7139,57150,14211,03145,0002,86313,84428,987111,54723,317
2013170,91064,30448,99937,0371.4953,6668,16545,50110,52822,8602,25314,25916,960123,54924,837
2012156,50868,66255,24141,7331.6650,8568,29542,56101,74010,7460118,21025,202
2011108,24943,81833,79025,9221.0337,5294,26033,26901,1689,81576,61525,202
201065,22525,68418,38514,0130.5618,5952,00516,59087911,26147,79124,881
200942,90517,22211,7408,2350.3410,1591,1449,0157105,26331,64024,404
200837,49113,1978,3276,1190.259,5961,0918,50551611,87522,29724,273
200724,5788,1524,4073,4950.155,4707354,7352429,35214,53123,928

Some concepts are structurally absent for certain industries (banks report no gross profit or capex). Missing ≠ zero.