Apple Inc. AAPL

Name: AAPL Crucible Score
Creator: Kaladin Capital Intelligence

TechnologyConsumer ElectronicsNASDAQ📅 Scored March 7, 2026

Price at analysis: $252.62

Crucible Score

62.6

C+

Quality × Value Composite

KQI — Quality

75.5

B+

Fundamental Quality Index

KVI — Value

44.0

Valuation Attractiveness Index

Crucible Verdict — AAPL

Apple Inc. delivers exceptional quality metrics with an 86 Market Position score and perfect earnings beat streak, but AAPL trades at a 7% premium to fair value with notably weak 44.0 value scores. The quality-value disconnect reflects investors paying up for the company's durable competitive moat and dominant ecosystem position. Growth acceleration remains the key catalyst to justify current valuation levels.

— Kal, Kaladin Capital Intelligence

◆ KQI Quality Dimensions

Financial Quality

79.9

Growth Profile

56.1

Moat Durability

76.2

Management Effectiveness

76.8

Diversification & Resilience

78.5

Market Position

86.0

Weakest dimension: Growth Profile (56.1)

◆ KVI Value Dimensions

DCF Margin of Safety

53.0

FCF Yield & Cash Returns

42.1

Relative Valuation

58.5

Growth-Adjusted Value

11.1

Historical Valuation

67.0

Macro Context

5.0

◆ DCF Valuation Scenarios

Bear Case

$152.38

Base Case

$236.14

Bull Case

$358.72

Price at Analysis

$252.62

Scenario	Fair Value	Rev CAGR (5yr)	Terminal Margin	WACC
🔴 Bear	$152.38	4.0%	28.0%	10.5%
🟢 Base	$236.14	6.0%	31.0%	9.8%
🟢 Bull	$358.72	9.0%	34.0%	9.2%

Key Assumptions: WACC derived from CAPM using 4.39% risk-free rate, 1.12 beta, and 5.5% ERP yielding ~10.5% bear / ~9.8% base / ~9.2% bull with scenario-specific adjustments for risk. Revenue growth anchored to trailing 5-year CAGR of ~2.6%, with base assuming modest acceleration to 6% from services growth, bear at 4% reflecting hardware saturation, and bull at 9% driven by new product categories and AI monetization. Operating margins reflect historical range of 29.8%-32.0% with bear assuming slight compression to 28%, base at 31%, and bull expanding to 34% on services mix shift.

◆ Financial Snapshot

Profitability

Gross Margin47.3%

Operating Margin32.4%

Net Margin27.0%

ROIC50.5%

ROE1.1%

Balance Sheet

Balance SheetCR: 0.97

Cash ConversionFCF/EPS: 1.05x

Capital IntensityCapex/Rev: 3.1%

Altman Z-Score10.31 (Safe)

Piotroski F-Score9/9 (Strong)

Growth

Revenue CAGR3.3% CAGR

Earnings CAGR4.3% CAGR

Growth ConsistencyCV: 1.29

Segment Breadth5/7 growing (71%)

Quarterly TrendRev↑, Margin↑, WC↓

Earnings CredibilityConsistent Beater

◆ Revenue Breakdown — FY2025

By Segment

iPhone50.4%

Service26.2%

Wearables, Home and Accessories8.6%

Mac8.1%

iPad6.7%

By Geography

Americas Segment42.9%

Europe Segment26.7%

Greater China Segment15.5%

Rest of Asia Pacific Segment8.1%

Japan Segment6.9%

Total Revenue

$416.2B

Fiscal Year 2025

◆ Analyst Consensus & Leadership

Analyst Price Targets

Avg Target (Last Quarter)$313.43

Analysts Covering (Quarter)16

Avg Target (Last Year)$285.90

Analysts (Year)50

Leadership & Governance

CEOTim Cook · 15 years

CEO Ownership< 1%

Compensation94% performance-based

Insider ActivitySelling

Capital AllocationROIC 50.5% vs WACC 10.6%

Earnings Beat Rate100% (22/22)

◆ Company Profile

Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide.

CEO

Timothy D. Cook

Employees

164000

Headquarters

Cupertino, CA, US

IPO Date

December 12, 1980

Exchange

NASDAQ

Website

apple.com

◆ Related Companies in Our Universe

Other Technology companies scored by the Crucible:

ADBE81.8A-NICE80.7A-DECK79.9A-INTU79.9A-EXEL78.3A-MTCH78.2A-TTD78.0B+

Methodology All Scores Crucible Briefs Performance @KaladinCI

Analysis conducted March 7, 2026 based on most recent SEC filings. Updated quarterly, after new SEC filings.

Point-in-time fundamental analysis. Not investment advice. Scores reflect company quality and valuation at time of analysis and may not reflect current market conditions.