Apple Investors Face Long Wait for 10x Returns

Apple's stock has been on a wild ride over the past decade, with investors who put in $1,000 seeing their returns grow by as much as 1181.3%.

However, reaching that same level of growth again from today's prices is a much more daunting task. The company's price model suggests that a $1,000 investment could be worth around $1,626.60 by 2031, based on a five-year per-share target of $550.18 and an annualized return of 10.22%.

But how long would it take for the investment to hit $10,000? The model's central scenario suggests that it would take around 23-24 years, while the bull-case pace would shave off almost six years from that timeline, bringing it down to around 17-18 years. On the other hand, the bear-case pace would see the investment taking a staggering 85 years to reach $10,000.

The company's strong earnings performance, services growth, and cash returned to shareholders have all contributed to its positive outlook. However, there are also risks that could shrink returns, including tight supply chains and rising memory prices, as well as regulatory pressures in the EU and China.