Apple
How to anchor a P/E target multiple to a stock's own history and defend it with a DCF and peer comparison.
- Rating
- Price target
- USD 430.00
- Published
- December 12, 2010
- Length
- 59 pages
- Sector
- Technology hardware
- Market
- US
What the analyst argued
Goldman Sachs resumed coverage of Apple with a Conviction List Buy and $430 target, arguing its platform-centric model (hardware tied to iOS, iTunes and the App Store) let it capture share in new computing segments while enjoying margin leverage. The analysts used Apple's own platform history to argue recent gross-margin erosion was normal and had already bottomed, and forecast 37.2 million iPad units in 2011, enough to make Apple one of the largest personal computing vendors. The target applied a 20x P/E to above-consensus 2011 EPS of $21.46, a discount to the five-year average multiple, cross-checked with a DCF.
Lead analysts: Bill Shope, Elizabeth Borbolla, Cristina Colon.
Inside the report
- 01Investment view: A disruptive platform with plenty of room for growth
- 02Investment theme #1: The platform opportunity is still in its early stages
- 03Investment theme #2: We believe gross margins have already bottomed
- 04Investment theme #3: The iPad gives Apple its most significant PC share opportunity in nearly three decades
- 05Key risks to our investment thesis
- 06Earnings outlook
- 07Valuation
- 08Comparative valuation analysis implies upside
- 09Discounted cash flow analysis
- 10Common questions
- P/E
- DCF
- Comparable companies
Includes a multi-year earnings model with the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow forecasts the valuation is built on.
Read the report
59 pages
Tap the cover to open the PDF.Published by Goldman Sachs on December 12, 2010 and hosted here for educational use; the report and everything in it belongs to Goldman Sachs. The rating, estimates, and price target are the analysts’ view on that date, more than a decade ago, and are not a recommendation today. Copy first uploaded October 5, 2026.
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