How to buy Apple (AAPL) shares

This article focuses on how to buy specific securities, however, it is not a recommendation to invest in them and should not be taken as financial advice. Do your own research and make your own decisions, or even consider getting advice from a licensed financial adviser before investing.

Key highlights:

• Apple shares ($AAPL) had a five year average return of 25.93% by the end of 2022.
• The company's user-friendly products often set the standard for consumer technology.
• Investing in Apple stocks can be done in several ways by the average person.

Apple, Inc. (AAPL) has grown into the largest listed U.S. company with a market cap of over US$2 trillion in January 2023. They've managed to bring innovative ideas to life in famous products over the years, but are under constant pressure to stay ahead of the curve.

How to buy Apple shares (AAPL)

Want to start buying AAPL shares but not sure how? Learn how to buy Apple stock on the Stake stock trading platform below.

1. Find a stock trading platform

To buy U.S.-listed companies, you'll need to sign up to a broker with access to the U.S. stock market. There are a number of share trading platforms in Australia, of which Stake is one.

2. Fund your account

Complete an application with your personal and financial details. Fund your brokerage account with a bank transfer, debit card or even Apple/Google pay.

3. Search for Apple or AAPL

Find the share by name or ticker symbol: AAPL. Do your own research to ensure it is the right investment product for your own circumstances.

4. Choose an order type and buy AAPL shares

Buy on any trading day with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase of AAPL shares until it reaches your desired stock price. Look into dollar cost averaging to spread out your risk, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals.

5. Monitor your investment

Optimise your portfolio by tracking how your stock and the business performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights that affect your stock.

Gain access to shares like Apple and more when you sign up to Stake.

Apple, Inc. (AAPL) overview

The American technology company is known for its consumer electronics, software and media services. The multinational firm was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in California. It originally focused on home computers as the industry started to emerge in the 1980s. Apple launched a number of successful products since the early 2000s and the iPhone remains its main revenue driver.

They've expanded into the digital media content space to complement their existing hardware and software segments. The business has a diverse range of services amongst its income stream. They include the App Store, Apple Music, iCloud, Apple Arcade and Apple TV+. Entry into the payments sector came with the launch of Apple Pay in 2014. Apple has built a reputation for simple, but sophisticated designs across its products.

Apple share performance

Apple listed on the NASDAQ exchange on December 12, 1980 at US$22.00 per share. The first few years were tough, with Apple shares reaching an all-time low of US$0.05, on 15 August 1985. The Apple share price showed a generally positive trend, but their real breakout period only came in the 2000s. The launch of the iPod in 2001 and iPhone in 2007 were greatly anticipated events.

The shift into wearables with the Apple Watch in 2015 helped maintain growth. In August 2018, Apple made history by becoming the first publicly traded U.S. company to be valued at $1 trillion. The price of Apple shares was up nearly 40% for the year by early October. Though the success was short-lived as the company's guidance for sales in the critical December quarter fell short of Wall Street expectations in a 1 November report. The overall return for 2018 was -5.34%.

However, Apple's stock remained resilient and made an impressive comeback. The annual returns for 2019 and 2020 were 88.96% and 82.31% respectively. Concerns about the iPhone market becoming saturated were alleviated as other products saw rapid revenue growth. In August of 2020, the company broke records by becoming the first U.S. company to reach a US$2 trillion market cap.

Apple's all-time high share price of US$180.73 occurred January 3, 2022, after adjustments for stock splits. The company could not escape last year's downturn in the stock market, which was especially tough for the tech sector. The annual return was -26.32%, close to industry average of -27.21%. It's been a bumpy ride but Apple still managed to achieve a five year return of 25.93% by the end of 2022. 

Apple stock P/E ratio

The price to earnings (P/E) ratio divides a stock's closing price by its earnings per share. At 23 January 2023, Apple's P/E ratio was at 23.10. Tech companies tend to have higher measures as share prices are strongly affected by expectations of future earnings.

Apple EBITDA

The Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) reveals information about the operating profitability of a firm. Apple's EBITDA for the 12 months ending on 30 September 2022 was US$130.54b, showing a 8.57% year-on-year increase.

Does Apple, Inc. shares pay dividends?

Apple tends to pay out quarterly dividends. They've averaged around 20 cents per share since 2020. Investors received US$0.23 per share for the latest on 10 November 2022. Dividends have become a regular event since 2012. Apple paused them in 1995 when management decided that reinvesting profits into new projects would be more beneficial to the firm and shareholders. There are other tech giants that maintain this strategy and have never paid any dividends, including Google ($GOOG) and Amazon ($AMZN).

Has Apple ever had a stock split?

Apple's completed five stock splits since going public in 1980. The first three were on a 2-for-1 basis, essentially allowing investors to buy a single share at half the previous price in 1987, 2000 and 2005. A 7-for-1 split occurred in 2014 taking individual share costs down from around US$700 to approximately US$100. The latest event was a 4-for-1 split in August 2020 that quadrupled the number of shares, with prices going from nearly US$500 per share to about US$125.

Apple, Inc. FAQs

What ETFs can I invest in that hold Apple?

As the largest listed company in the U.S. there are many options to invest in Apple shares through an ETF. It would currently account for around 6% of holdings in an S&P 500 ETF such as iShares' Wall St ($SPY) or ASX option ($IVV). It's also commonly featured in products that tilt towards the information technology sector and track indices like the NASDAQ. Popular options include the Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 ($QQQ) and BetaShares's NASDAQ 100 ETF ($NDQ).

How many shares does Apple have?

As of December 2022, Apple has a total number of 16,030,382,000 shares outstanding. They've increased over the years due to stock splits.

How much money do you need to invest in Apple stock?

One Apple share was worth US$141.11 on 23 January 2023, but some platforms make it possible to trade fractional shares. This means you can buy and sell a portion of one share, for example, you could become an Apple shareholder by investing as little as US$10 on the Stake Wall St.