Miguel Ancira on Premarket: Apple is green - 'Apple Intelligence, now via Alibaba, coming to China. Let’s see what effect that has. Should be very interesting.'
on Nitrozac & Snaggy on Apple vs. OpenAI - 'A judgement paid off in ‘data centers’ might be useful for Apple 🙂'
on Premarket: Apple is green - 'Yesterday’s drop felt soft so I kinda expected (hoped for?) green this morning. But I never really trust my gut anymore. Just like I hope “The environment has shifted…” and “We’ve gone from a market driven by macro headlines…” are true. I’d say “about time!” But I don’t trust that either. But here’s hoping! 🙂'
on Premarket: Apple is red - 'Goldman rose $94.07 or 9% to $1,140 on strong earnings and hit a new all-time high of $1,143.79 close to the close. JPMorgan rose $8.36 or 2.50% on strong earnings and hit a new all-time high of $344.73 in early trading. Bank of America rose $1.12 or 1.88% on strong earnings and hit a new all-time high of $61.21 in early trading. Morgan Stanley rose $6.58 or 2.98% in anticipation of strong earnings and hit a new all-time high of $232.11 in early trading. Morgan Stanley reports before the market opens on Wednesday.'
on KeyBanc downgrades Apple, sticks with $250 target - '” They went from nearly 22 billion shares outstanding down to ~14.5 billion.” Each publicly held share today represents a 50% larger equity stake than it did 10 years ago. And the investor didn’t have to do anything to get it. The neat part is that you can bank that annualized gain because of the consistency and duration of the buybacks, even during periods of slower revenue and earnings growth.'
on Nitrozac & Snaggy on Apple vs. OpenAI - '” What damages do you seek from a company that operates at a massive loss, all the time, and which has been accelerating its debt accumulation?” You destroy the defendant’s ability to recruit, partner and/or raise capital The detail in the complaint is such that all three allegations are imminently believable. You win without going through all the depositions or discovery and pre-trial motions. At this point I believe either Altman is toast, and if he doesn’t fall on his sword, then OpenAI is toast. Either way this is a serious setback for Altman and OpenAI.'
on KeyBanc downgrades Apple, sticks with $250 target - 'Why does everyone seem to omit SBB? The Complete Apple Capital Allocation Matrix Year P/E Ratio Annual Buybacks ($B) Shares Outstanding (Split-Adjusted) 2016 13.9x $29.7B 21.88 Billion 2017 17.1x $32.9B 21.00 Billion 2018 16.5x $72.7B 19.82 Billion 2019 24.6x $66.9B 18.47 Billion 2020 37.7x $72.3B 17.00 Billion 2021 29.5x $92.5B 16.43 Billion 2022 21.3x $95.6B 15.94 Billion 2023 31.4x $83.0B 15.55 Billion 2024 39.8x $100.4B 15.20 Billion 2025 36.5x $96.7B 14.85 Billion 2026 38.1x $85.0B (TTM) 14.50 Billion What This Dynamic Chart Proves: The Massive ~34% Reduction: By pouring hundreds of billions into buybacks, Apple has successfully retired over 7 billion shares in just a decade. They went from nearly 22 billion shares outstanding down to ~14.5 billion. The EPS Distortion Engine: This visual perfectly explains why Apple’s valuation multiple (P/E) expands so comfortably. When you eliminate 34% of the share pool, your Earnings Per Share (EPS) jumps automatically—even in years where net net income growth is modest. Institutional Security: Seeing that steady, predictable downward slope of the red line is exactly why institutional investors treat Apple like an annuity, allowing it to comfortably hold a 35x+ P/E ratio today compared to the sub-15x ratio it had when it carried 21+ billion shares.'
on Apple Siri AI public beta has landed. Give it a try - 'What a great idea! 🙂 Can you use AI to create it? Legal issues?'
on KeyBanc downgrades Apple, sticks with $250 target - 'Interesting info Bart – thx as always for doing your homework and sharing the results with the rest of us. I asked Gemini a much simpler question: “What is Brandon Nispel’s track record?” Because to be fair, he could be consistently wrong about Apple but otherwise give sound advice on other stock recs. Anyway here’s the reply, or at least the part I think is important: Success/Win Rate: 50% – 56% accuracy on his investment recommendations. [IOW, about the same as a coin toss.] Average Return: Delivers an average return of around +3.5% to +4.2% per stock recommendation. [IOW, pretty close to the inflation rate – maybe slightly above depending on what year you want to consider. Not very impressive.] Target Accuracy: Hits his specified price targets roughly 62% to 73% of the time. [A key question for Key Bank – and Brandon – is how aggressive are his price targets? With +3.5 – 4.2% return on his pics, I’m guessing they are not very aggressive. Therefore easy to reach!]'
on Nitrozac & Snaggy on Apple vs. OpenAI - 'What damages do you seek from a company that operates at a massive loss, all the time, and which has been accelerating its debt accumulation? Maybe Apple should wait until after the IPO 😉'
on KeyBanc downgrades Apple, sticks with $250 target - '“ This rigid reliance on historical mean reversion” A perfect example of blinders.'
on Nitrozac & Snaggy on Apple vs. OpenAI - 'Open AI might be left with nothing more than a fig leaf after the trade secrets lawsuit filed by Apple. After reviewing their pleading, what jumped out at me was the fact Apple didn’t bother to include any unnamed “Doe Defendants.” That tells me their attorneys have taken copious care to marshal all of the pertinent facts with the specified bad actors and are all lined up ready to go have a trial.'
on KeyBanc downgrades Apple, sticks with $250 target - 'That seems correct, but if I were an institutional investor, I’d wonder just how well does the KFLD credit card spending data mirror a demographic I’m interested in. If it’s US only it ignores the international market. If it shows slowing when US spending remains flat or continues to show spending increases by Apple users (NOT the general public), then it doesn’t reflect on AAPL well, maybe only those utility or telecom stocks and companies. Remember, the data is only as good as the the data gatherers and the population generating that data. If it’s been consistently wrong or the analysis is wrong regarding Apple, I wouldn’t put much confidence into the data itself. Might work for other companies or retail industries, but tech, maybe not.'
on Premarket: Apple is red - 'Volume today was a paltry 36.2 M shares. I’m going to go watch paint dry….'
on On a 10-day midwestern city tour visiting grandkids - 'Given that even the “Monsters of the Midway” (AKA: Chicago Bears) left the Windy City, and those are some extremely large and scary dudes, be careful and keep the iPhone dialed to 911 at all times. Cleveland? This mistake by the lake says it all. Have a great time PED and it was pleasure meeting you in Palo Alto last Saturday with the rest of the Apple 3.0 group.'
on Premarket: Apple is red - 'John: IBM ended the session down $73.16 or 25.51% at $217.07. Today’s drop pushed the dividend yield to 3.11% from 2.33%. The last time the shares traded in this range was in mid-May. I’m surprised but not shocked by today’s drop. IBM is in the software and consulting businesses. In the AI era both areas of potential weakness will get hammered by the Street on any hint of a performance disappointment.'
on On a 10-day midwestern city tour visiting grandkids - 'Safe travels and hopefully not too hot for you.'
on KeyBanc downgrades Apple, sticks with $250 target - 'My 1-line “Natural Intelligence?” summary: People come to Key Bank for the data, not for the analyst positions. Izzat right?'
on Premarket: Apple is red - 'In the last half-hour of today’s trading and Apple is off $1.46 at $315.85. This is following yesterday’s record close of $317.31 and after reaching a new all-time high of $323.45 during yesterday’s session. The shares opened this morning at $313.64.'
on On a 10-day midwestern city tour visiting grandkids - 'Hopefully you aren’t doing this on your bikes.'
on Premarket: Apple is red - 'Now in the last hour of trading and Goldman is up $89.73 at $1,135.64 after reaching a new all-time high of $1,136.32 earlier this afternoon. Morgan Stanley is higher by $6.45 at $227.54. The company reports after the bell. JPMorgan, which also reported this morning, is up $7.11 at $341.64.'
on Nitrozac & Snaggy on Apple vs. OpenAI - '”How do you like my new leaf” I’m surprised more firms aren’t sporting a new leaf.'
on Nitrozac & Snaggy on Apple vs. OpenAI - 'How weird! I was just thinking about Nitrozac this morning and wondering if they were still out there. Maybe if I start thinking about Apple hitting $400… ?'
on Premarket: Apple is red - 'John: I just saw your post after I added a comment on IBM. The company issued a profit warning against bullish expectations. I do expect a recover over time. IBM is a quantum computing play with some vulnerability to softness in software and consulting at this time.'
on Premarket: Apple is red - 'Oh wow! Big Blue took a deep dive into the red! Nearing 3pm in the east and IBM is down $71.50 or nearly 25% at $218.73. The company issued a profit warning against what had been bullish expectations for the company. Wamsi Mohan at BofA reduced the firm’s price target for the shares from $330 to $280. Considering Big Blue is one of the nation’s leading quantum computing plays, at under $220 per share is the stock already oversold? We’ll see how this plays out!'
on KeyBanc downgrades Apple, sticks with $250 target - '“so why should anyone, including KeyBanc clients, use or trust Keybanc or Nispel’s analysis? how would clients have fared following their advice?“ “If an investor had strictly followed KeyBanc’s or Brandon Nispel’s advice on Apple over the last decade, they would have significantly underperformed the market and missed out on a 1,300%+ return. By staying on the sidelines or underweight, clients locked in massive opportunity costs—the literal price of being wrong on Wall Street’s most reliable wealth compounding engine. Despite this track record on Apple, institutional clients still pay for and use KeyBanc’s research. Understanding why requires looking at how institutional asset management actually works. How KeyBanc Clients Fared Following Their Advice If a client actively managed a portfolio based on KeyBanc’s Apple ratings, their performance suffered in two major ways: The 2023–2026 Sidelines Penalty: A client who sold Apple at $173 during KeyBanc’s October 2023 downgrade missed out on an ~85% surge to the recent $323 all-time high. The “Underweight” Benchmark Drag: Institutional fund managers are judged against benchmarks like the S&P 500. Because Apple makes up roughly 6% to 7% of the entire index, being “Underweight” Apple while it hits record highs means a fund manager almost certainly failed to beat the market. Why Institutional Clients Still Trust and Value KeyBanc: If their Apple calls have been chronically wrong, why do clients keep paying for their research? Institutional investors do not look at analysts as infallible fortune tellers; they value them for specific operational reasons: 1. The Value of the Proprietary Data Pipeline KeyBanc provides clients with its proprietary KeyBanc First Look Data (KFLD). This tool tracks real-world credit card spending across millions of consumers. Even if Nispel’s final conclusion (the Sell rating) turns out to be wrong because he misses Apple’s global ecosystem strength, the raw spending data he provides is highly accurate for U.S. retail tracking. Hedge funds buy KeyBanc’s research just to get their hands on that raw data. 2. Sector Expertise Beyond Apple An equity research team covers dozens of stocks in a sector (Telecom, Media, Technology). While Nispel may have missed the boat on Apple, his models and channel checks might be incredibly accurate for smaller, highly cyclical companies in his coverage universe—such as U.S. telecom carriers (Verizon, AT&T), cable providers, or hardware component suppliers—where credit card data correlates perfectly with revenue. 3. Stress-Testing the Bull Case Sophisticated institutional investors do not want an echo chamber. If a fund manager owns billions of dollars in Apple stock, they want to read the absolute best bearish argument available to challenge their own assumptions. KeyBanc provides a highly mathematical, logical bear case. It forces bulls to ask themselves: “What if U.S. carrier subsidy cuts actually do drag down the iPhone upgrade cycle this time?” 4. Disconnect Between Short-Term Data and Long-Term Trends Wall Street analysts operate on a 12-month horizon. KeyBanc is often looking through a microscope at the next two quarters of hardware sales. Apple, conversely, is an ecosystem built on a 10-year horizon. KeyBanc’s analysis is highly trusted for predicting short-term corporate speedbumps, even if it fails to accurately value Apple’s multi-decade consumer monopoly.” “Would you like to look at the performance of Brandon Nispel’s other stock recommendations across the broader tech and telecom sector to see where his model succeeds, or examine how a competing firm like Goldman Sachs views Apple right now?”'
on KeyBanc downgrades Apple, sticks with $250 target - '“Can you give me 10 year AAPL performance vs 10 year keybanc AAPL price targets and recommendations” “Over the past decade, KeyBanc’s analytical approach has consistently legacy-priced Apple as a hardware manufacturer, causing the firm to repeatedly lag behind Apple’s actual structural transformation and historic 1,300%+ stock surge. While Apple expanded its services ecosystem and orchestrated massive share buybacks, KeyBanc frequently found itself behind the curve, keeping a cautious or neutral stance during massive expansion eras. The 10-Year Track Record: KeyBanc vs. AAPL Performance A multi-era look shows how KeyBanc’s price targets and ratings compared to Apple’s actual stock price trajectory (adjusted for the 4-for-1 split in 2020): 1. The Hardware Skepticism Era (2016 – 2019) KeyBanc Stance: Maintained a highly cautious, frequently neutral approach. In 2016 and 2017, KeyBanc routinely kept target prices conservative (often tracking around the $25 to $35 split-adjusted range), constantly warning of iPhone upgrade stagnation. Apple Actual Performance: Apple surged from ~$24 to over $73 by the end of 2019. Tim Cook aggressively pivoted the company into Services. KeyBanc was forced to chase the stock upward, repeatedly lifting targets after Apple had already broken past them. 2. The 5G and Pandemic Boom (2020 – 2022) KeyBanc Stance: Sector Weight (Neutral) shifting temporarily to Overweight during peak 5G hype, setting targets tracking the $150–$180 range. However, their internal models quickly reverted to caution as soon as macroeconomic tightening began in 2022. Apple Actual Performance: Apple defied hardware limitations, skyrocketing from $75 to an intra-era high of $182 by early 2022. Even during the broader market correction of 2022, Apple’s high cash reserves and ecosystem locking limited its downside compared to the tech peers KeyBanc preferred. 3. The Structural Disconnection (2023 – Mid-2026) KeyBanc Stance: Downgraded to Neutral (Sector Weight) in October 2023 at ~$173. KeyBanc kept its sidelines stance for nearly three full years, arguing that expensive P/E ratios and soft U.S. credit card spend data meant growth was tapped out. Apple Actual Performance: Apple staged an historic, multi-year rally, climbing an incredible ~85% to hit an all-time high of $323.45 on July 13, 2026. 4. The Current Divergence (July 2026) KeyBanc Stance: Downgraded to Sell (Underweight) with a restrictive $250 price target. Apple Actual Price: $314.88. KeyBanc’s target calls for a 21% crash from yesterday’s all-time peak. Performance vs. Strategy Summary Table Metric – Apple Stock Reality – KeyBanc Narrative / Action 10-Year Return +1,318% Mostly Neutral or lagging target increases. 2023–2026 Stance Stock rose from $173 to $323 Stood on sidelines with Sector Weight. Current Prediction Trading over $314 Predicting a drop down to $250. Why the Data Model Fails Over Long Horizons KeyBanc relies intensely on its proprietary indexed credit card spending tracker (KFLD). While this micro-data does an excellent job capturing if fewer Americans are buying an iPad or MacBook at a local retailer in any given month, it historically fails to capture Apple’s long-term macro levers: The Share Reduction Engine: Apple spent hundreds of billions over the last decade buying back its own stock, structurally growing earnings-per-share (EPS) even when unit volumes flattened. International Wealth Migration: While KeyBanc tracked slowing U.S. carrier upgrades, Apple expanded enterprise values by penetrating high-margin international and emerging markets.” “Would you like to analyze how Apple’s historical share buybacks have mathematically protected the stock price from the exact cyclical drops KeyBanc has predicted over the last decade?”'
on KeyBanc downgrades Apple, sticks with $250 target - 'Here’s where AI can help us understand and hold accountable analysts price targets and opinions. “yes, they are underestimating. compare KeyBanc’s price targets and recommendations over the past 3 years with AAPL stock’s actual performance” “Over the past three years, KeyBanc’s cautious-to-bearish stance on Apple ($AAPL) has consistently underperformed the stock’s actual market returns, as Apple repeatedly defied the firm’s growth concerns to hit new record highs. The structural comparison below demonstrates how KeyBanc’s calls timed against Apple’s performance. KeyBanc Rating History vs. Apple Performance (2023–2026) Time Period – KeyBanc Action / Price Target – Apple Actual Price & Performance – The Outcome October 2023 Downgraded to Neutral (Sector Weight). Cited soft U.S. carrier upgrades and high P/E. AAPL was trading at ~$173. Missed the Rally: Over the next two years, Apple shook off macroeconomic headwinds to push well past the $200 and $300 milestones. 2024 – Mid 2026 Maintained Neutral (Sector Weight). Kept sidelines position as AI optimism grew. AAPL climbed from ~$185 to $317. Massive Opportunity Cost: Apple surged roughly 70% during this neutral stance, fueled by ecosystem resilience and anticipation of major AI feature cycles. July 2026 (Current) Downgraded to Sell (Underweight). Set a $250 price target. AAPL hits an all-time high of $323.45. Maximum Divergence: KeyBanc’s target implies a 21% drop, placing them heavily at odds with a stock up 17% this year alone. Why KeyBanc Repeatedly Underestimated Apple KeyBanc’s model relies heavily on its proprietary credit card spending data (KFLD tracker), which showed Apple-related hardware spending down 2% month-over-month. While mathematically accurate regarding short-term U.S. credit card transactions, this methodology historically missed three major blind spots: Global Market Share Gains: While KeyBanc focused on stalling U.S. carrier promotions, Apple expanded market share in international markets and capitalized on premium global demand. Ecosystem Lock-In Power: KeyBanc anticipated that higher MacBook and iPad prices would crush demand. Instead, Apple consumers showed highly inelastic loyalty, maintaining upgrade cycles despite price increases. The AI Catalyst: The firm has treated Apple Intelligence as an unproven driver, whereas broader Wall Street bulls (like Citi and Loop Capital) view AI monetization as a multi-year foundational tailwind pushing price targets up to $350–$365.” “Would you like to examine the exact details of Citi or Loop Capital’s bullish reports to see how their data counters KeyBanc’s proprietary spending tracker?”'


