The Power of a $3 Trillion Moat

Market pundits fixate on round numbers and milestones... [Chaikin PowerFeed]( The Power of a $3 Trillion Moat By Carlton Neel, CEO, Chaikin Analytics Market pundits fixate on round numbers and milestones... I remember "Dow 10,000"... then "Dow 20,000." The index is well above 30,000 these days... And it could hit 40,000 as soon as this year. Imagine that... "Dow 40,000." It's the same story with individual stocks... Pundits love to talk about share prices. They debate when a stock will eclipse $100, $200, or $300 per share. Pundits also focus on the total value of a company – its market capitalization, or "market cap." That's the dollar amount of each share multiplied by all the outstanding shares. Consumer-electronics giant Apple (AAPL) recently smashed the market cap record... It became the first company valued at more than $3 trillion. That's a huge number... And not surprisingly, the pundits can't stop talking about it. What's in a number, though? Does this signal the end of Apple? Is Apple overvalued now? Let's start with the case of another milestone-making company... Recommended Links: [TOMORROW: CRASH WARNING]( The man who predicted the 2020 crash to the VERY WEEK is now sharing the EXACT DATE he believes stocks will soon plummet. If you know what's coming, as he has already shown, you could potentially double your money 10 different times... without buying a single stock. Before tomorrow, [click here for the full details](. [How I Saved My Retirement... and Stopped Worrying About Money Forever]( I never worry about my retirement income, no matter what happens with politics or the markets. My money's practically guaranteed by law... Now, a once-in-a-generation opportunity to see 700%-plus potential in my favorite strategy just opened again. [I explain everything here](. In the early 1990s, Cisco Systems (CSCO) was a relatively obscure network hardware company. It made switches, routers, and other products that linked computers together on networks. (It still does today, too.) Then, the Internet boom happened... By 2000, Cisco became the world's most valuable company. Its market cap rose to more than $550 billion. Analysts started predicting that Cisco's market cap could surpass $1 trillion one day. Pundits chewed it over... They couldn't believe that a single company could be worth that much. As it turns out... it wasn't. Not long after that, the dot-com bust happened. Cisco's stock crashed all the way through late 2002... Its value plunged roughly 90% in that span. And it hasn't come close to reaching its peak valuation again. It's valued at around $260 billion today. Back in 2018, Apple started flirting with the $1 trillion mark. And folks began thinking just like they did about Cisco... This can't be a good thing for Apple going forward. But in August of that year, the stock blew through that level. And it hasn't slowed down... That's because Apple is an excellent company. It has great earnings power and an incredible "moat" around it. (A moat is essentially a barrier against competition.) Apple's moat is its loyal user base... It brings a revenue stream that almost no other company can penetrate. I'm one of millions of folks using the iPhone 13, for example. My entire extended family uses Apple's products... We've likely bought well over 200 devices from the company over the years. And it's a similar story with almost everyone I know. Once you've started using Apple's devices, you're locked in... You end up buying apps, music, and movies to enhance the experience with your iPhone or iPad. And of course, Apple gets a cut of every single transaction. That's a moat. Apple reached $2 trillion in market cap in August 2020. And just 17 months later, its market cap touched $3 trillion on the first trading day of 2022. Its value has dipped slightly over the past week or so, but it's still hovering just shy of that round number today. So... now what? For that, we'll turn to our proprietary "Power Gauge" system. Specifically, we'll focus on the "Pre-Trade Research Checklist" – one of many features available to Power Gauge users... As you can see in the upper-left corner next to the ticker, the Power Gauge rates Apple as "very bullish" today. The checklist also shows us that the stock is performing well compared with the overall market... And the company is in a strong industry group. As far as timing, the price action is in a strong long-term trend. If Apple pulls back slightly, it could drop the stock into "oversold" territory... That would give investors a solid buying opportunity. We've seen today that numbers are sometimes meaningful... But other times, they're just levels to make a news story or give the pundits something to rattle on about. When it comes to Apple, focus on the fundamentals... The company's massive moat will propel it into the future. It supports the Power Gauge's very bullish take on the company. And at some point, the pundits will all be talking about the stock as it nears $4 trillion. Good investing, Carlton Neel Market View Major Indexes and Notable Sectors % Hld: Bullish Neutral Bearish Dow 30 +0.48% 8 20 2 S&P 500 +0.91% 118 310 68 Nasdaq +1.50% 22 61 16 Small Caps +1.01% 384 993 483 Bonds +0.67% Energy +3.40% 11 10 0 — According to the Chaikin Power Bar, Small Cap stocks are somewhat more Bearish than Large Cap stocks. Major indexes are mixed. * * * * Top Movers Gainers [rating] ILMN +16.98% [rating] APA +8.77% [rating] OXY +7.16% [rating] CRL +7.14% [rating] LVS +6.64% Losers [rating] MRNA -5.27% [rating] APTV -3.25% [rating] DG -3.24% [rating] DPZ -3.23% [rating] PKI -2.89% * * * * Earnings Report Reporting Today Rating Before Open After Close JEF No earnings reporting today. Earnings Surprises [rating] ACI Albertsons Companies, Inc. Q3 $0.79 Beat by $0.20 [rating] SNX TD SYNNEX Corporation Q4 $2.86 Beat by $0.18 * * * * Sector Tracker Sector movement over the last 5 days Energy +6.81% Financial +2.05% Health Care -0.57% Industrials -1.06% Staples -1.16% Materials -1.29% Communication -1.46% Utilities -1.88% Information Technology -3.28% Discretionary -4.24% Real Estate -4.36% * * * * Industry Focus Retail Services 10 64 29 Over the past 6 months, the Retail subsector (XRT) has underperformed the S&P 500 by -19.27%. Its Power Bar ratio, which measures future potential, is Weak, with more Bearish than Bullish stocks. It is currently ranked #17 of 21 subsectors and has moved down 1 slot over the past week. Indicative Stocks [rating] REAL The RealReal, Inc. [rating] CHWY Chewy, Inc. [rating] PRCH Porch Group, Inc. * * * * Chaikin Analytics LLC is not registered as a securities broker-dealer or advisor either with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or with any state securities regulatory authority. Chaikin Analytics does not recommend the purchase of any stock or advise on the suitability of any trade. The information presented is generic in nature and is not to be construed as an endorsement, recommendation, advice or any offer or solicitation to buy or sell securities or any kind, but solely as information requiring further research as to suitability, accuracy and appropriateness. Users bear sole responsibility for their own stock research and decisions. Read the full disclaimer at [(. You have received this e-mail because you subscribed to PowerFeed, published by Chaikin Analytics. To stop receiving PowerFeed daily, click to [unsubscribe](. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, call +1 (877) 697-6783 (U.S.), 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Eastern time or e-mail info@chaikinanalytics.com. Chaikin Analytics 1500 JFK Blvd Suite 220 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102 United States +1 (877) 697-6783