Apple Stock: Your Golden Ticket to Millionaire Status?

Tech Giant's Shares Could Mint New Millionaires—If You Time It Right

The Apple Millionaire Blueprint

Forget lottery tickets—Apple stock might be your real shot at seven figures. The Cupertino behemoth keeps printing money while everyone debates whether iPhones count as luxury goods or necessities.

Tim Cook's Money Machine

Apple's ecosystem locks users in tighter than any subscription service. iPhones, Macs, Watches—they all feed the revenue beast. Meanwhile, Wall Street analysts still can't decide if Apple is a tech company or a luxury brand.

The Million-Dollar Question

Will Apple hit another trillion? Maybe. But remember—past performance doesn't guarantee future returns, no matter how many times finance bros quote Warren Buffett at parties.

Buying Apple won't make you rich overnight—unless you've got insider information, which we definitely don't recommend. But as a long-term play? It's about as safe as bets get in this market. Just don't expect any financial advisor to admit they'd rather hold Apple than try to beat the market with questionable crypto picks.

Image source: Getty Images.

Shifting revenue composition

People know Apple for its hardware devices. The iPhone, for instance, is the company's crown jewel. This has been the case since the first model was released in 2007. It's remarkable to think that this single product has had a nearly two-decade run, with its relevance still continuing to this day.

In the fiscal 2025 third quarter (ended June 28), sales of the iPhone represented 47% of Apple's total revenue. The company's financial success still depends on selling more of these devices to people across the world.

That's not necessarily a positive attribute anymore. Given that feature updates aren't as revolutionary as they used to be, consumers have less incentive to spend more to switch to the latest iPhone iteration. This can pressure sales gains.

However, Apple's revenue structure is shifting more toward services. Offerings like Pay, Card, TV+, the App Store, Music, and advertising, among other things, raked in $27.4 billion in revenue in Q3, contributing 29% to the company's total sales base. The services segment grew 13.2% year over year and boasts a superb gross margin of 76%. Looking five or 10 years down the road, services are likely to represent a larger share of Apple's revenue if recent trends persist.

Apple's growth prospects

For a stock to turn its investors into millionaires, there needs to be significant growth potential. Given the maturity of the iPhone, as well as Apple's already colossal size, with trailing-12-month revenue of $408 billion, it's not realistic to expect huge gains going forward. According to Wall Street consensus analyst estimates, the business is projected to increase revenue at a compound annual rate of 5.7% between fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2027.

To its credit, though, Apple is working on a new range of smart home hardware devices powered by artificial intelligence (AI). A tabletop robot, home security cameras, and smart speakers are examples of what the business could soon launch.

One question remains: Can any of these new devices provide a meaningful boost to Apple's top line? While no one knows for sure, I'm going to adopt a conservative view and expect these products to become small contributors to the company's revenue over time. That's not exactly what bullish investors want to see.

Keep expectations in check

Apple is one of the highest-quality companies on the face of the planet, and very few WOULD argue with that statement. Its unmatched brand presence, powerful ecosystem that keeps users locked in, history of innovation, and insane profitability are all wonderful traits that can't be overlooked. These characteristics are probably what compelled Warren Buffett-ledto make a sizable bet on the company.

Despite this positive view of Apple, the stock isn't your ticket to becoming a millionaire. Those huge returns are a thing of the past. Given the expensive price-to-earnings ratio of 35, coupled with the muted growth prospects as we look ahead, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Apple shares underperform the broader market over the next decade.