1 “Magnificent Seven” Stock to Buy on the Dip

The stocks known as the “Magnificent Seven” has had a pretty mixed start to the year. This group includes high-profile tech companies that delivered excellent returns over the past decade: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla.

Some of them, most notably Meta Platforms and Nvidia, have been outperformers since January, while others haven’t had the same luck. Apple is in the latter category — the stock is down by nearly 5% year to date, the second-worst performance in the group.

Still, that’s no reason to ignore Apple stock. Let’s find out why Apple remains an excellent pick for long-term investors.

Apple’s quarterly update wasn’t great

Apple’s shares fell following the release of its financial results for the first quarter of 2024, which ended Dec. 30, 2023. The tech giant’s results were not great, especially on the top line. Net sales increased by just about 2% year over year to $119.6 billion. Apple’s earnings per share did increase by a solid 16% year over year to $2.18. There’s a reason why investors weren’t happy with Apple’s quarterly report: The company’s performance in one crucial region looks worrisome.

That region is China. Apple’s sales in the country declined by 13% year over year to $20.8 billion — that’s roughly 17.4% of Apple’s first-quarter 2024 revenue. Apple blamed lower sales of the iPhone and several other devices for the decline. However, this shouldn’t be a long-lasting problem for Apple. Smartphone sales fell in China for much of last year partly due to economic issues.

Apple likely wasn’t the only company affected. Moreover, Apple remains the top-selling smartphone brand in the country and elsewhere. CEO Tim Cook recently noted, “According to a survey from Kantar, iPhones were four out of the top five models in the U.S. and Japan, four out of the top six models in urban China and the U.K., and all top five models in Australia.”

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There are two more reasons to look at Apple’s…