Moody’s gives Apple top ‘AAA’ credit rating on growth promise

FILE PHOTO: The Apple Inc logo is seen outside the company’s 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, California, U.S. June 13, 2016. REUTERS / Stephen Lam / File Photo / File Photo

December 21, 2021

(Reuters) – Ratings agency Moody’s on Tuesday upgraded Apple Inc’s long-term credit rating to ‘AAA’ with a stable outlook, citing the iPhone maker’s “superior liquidity” and earnings high.

With this, Apple joins the elite club of companies including Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson that have been rated best by Moody’s.

Moody’s analyst Raj Joshi said: “Apple’s very strong business record reflects its substantial scale of operations, a large base of pre-installed products and service users, and customer loyalty. strong and high-end brand positioning”.

Apple’s fiscal 2021 earnings grew about 65%, while revenue grew 33% due to strong demand for its products and services during the pandemic.

Its shares are up nearly 30% this year, making the iPhone maker the first company in the world to surpass $3 trillion in market value.

Joshi added that he expects Apple’s earnings to grow over the next two to three years.

However, Moody’s believes that Apple faces performance risks due to its short product cycles, the need to adapt to changing consumer preferences, and the complex and complex management of a large and complex supply chain with upgrades. products on a regular basis.

In October, Apple said supply chain issues plaguing the industry cost its revenue $6 billion, and the impact could be worse during the holiday quarter.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)