How to buy, sell and short Apple shares

How to buy and invest in Apple shares

You can buy Apple shares in three ways with us:

1. Buy and own the shares through share dealing. You could also receive dividend if Apple pays them
2. Trade Apple options on a US options and futures account, on which you also have option to own the shares
3. Speculate on Apple’s share price movements without owning the physical assets by using spread bets or CFDs

See more differences between share dealing and derivatives trading.

How much would it cost to invest in Apple?

To qualify for our best commission on US shares, you have to be an active client and place three or more trades in the previous calendar month – or, invest via a US options and futures account. If you don’t want to take ownership of Apple shares, you can also speculate on the share price with derivatives. You’ll be able to:

• Get full exposure with a small margin – usually 20%-25% of the full value of the trade1
• Spread bet without paying any tax²
• Offset your losses against profits for tax purposes with CFDs
• Trade listed options on Apple shares, offering standardised contracts and potential for both limited risk and unlimited profit

How to sell and short Apple shares

Once you have bought your Apple shares, there may be a time you want to sell them – either to take profit or possibly to avoid a loss if you believe the share price could be about to enter a downward trend. You can also go short on Apple’s share price using derivatives if you believe it’s going down. To sell or short your Apple shares, follow these steps:

Apple shares spread betting

When you trade Apple shares via spread betting, you’re placing a bet on whether its price is headed up or down. As Apple moves in your chosen direction, you make a profit. If it moves against you, you make a loss.

Apple shares CFD trading

A CFD is a contract in which you agree to exchange the difference in the price of Apple shares from when you open your position to when you close it. You can buy CFDs to go long or sell them to go short.

How to trade Apple options

You can trade Apple options with us by following the steps below:

1. Research the market
2. Open a US-listed options and futures, spread betting or CFD trading account
3. Decide whether you want to buy or sell puts or calls
4. Select your strike price plus expiry and manage your risk
5. Place and monitor your trade

Understanding Apple: a brief history

Apple Computer Inc., founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, went public on December 12, 1980, at $22 per share with a $1.2 billion market cap. After both founders left in the mid-1980s, the stock price plummeted to $2.

Jobs' return in 1997 marked a turnaround. Apple launched innovative products like the iMac, iPod, and Mac OS X. The iPhone's 2007 debut revolutionized the smartphone industry, followed by the iPad in 2010.

Apple's stock saw volatility, rising during the dot-com boom, crashing in the 2000 tech bubble burst, and again during the 2008 financial crisis. However, strong product sales drove recovery and growth.

In 2011, Tim Cook succeeded Jobs as CEO. Under his leadership, Apple continued to innovate with products like the Apple Watch and AirPods, while significantly expanding its services business.

Apple achieved several market milestones:

• August 2018: first US company to reach $1 trillion market cap
• August 2020: first to reach $2 trillion
• January 2022: first to reach $3 trillion

In 2023, Apple announced the Vision Pro mixed-reality headset, set for 2024 release, marking its entry into a new product category.

From a garage startup to a global tech giant, Apple's journey has been defined by innovation, challenges, and remarkable growth, reshaping multiple industries along the way.

Apple shares: the basics

Apple shares are listed on the US Tech 100 (.NDX) under the ticker AAPL. If you want to buy, sell or trade Apple shares, you need to understand the details of the business, as well as the factors that impact its share price.
Apple's 25-year share price history

*Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance

Apple's share price has grown significantly in recent years, driven by a diversified product lineup and expanding services. While the smartphone market remains competitive, Apple has maintained strong iPhone sales through innovation and brand loyalty, particularly with the introduction of 5G models.

Apple no longer reports quarterly unit sales for individual products, instead focusing on revenue figures for major product categories. This shift has been generally accepted by investors.

The company's services business has become a major growth driver, surpassing its previous $50 billion revenue goal. Successful launches include Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, and the Apple One bundle. The performance of these services, along with established offerings, remains a key indicator of Apple's financial health.

Apple continues to pay quarterly dividends and maintains a large share repurchase program, both of which have increased over time.

Looking ahead, investors are watching Apple's ventures into new markets, including financial services with Apple Card and Apple Pay Later. There's also significant interest in Apple's rumored augmented reality and virtual reality products, which could represent the company's next major product category.

While challenges like supply chain issues and regulatory concerns persist, Apple's overall financial position and market standing remain strong. The success of new ventures and continued innovation in existing product lines will likely influence future stock performance

Apple’s key personnel: who manages the company?

There are 13 members on Apple’s executive team:

Apple also has a board of directors that oversees the executive team to ensure the interests of all stakeholders and shareholders are being served.

What is Apple’s strategy?

Apple is notoriously secretive, so it’s not clear what new products and services it might have in the works. Up until recently, its strategy was primarily to develop existing products. The last major product release was in 2015 with the launch of the Apple Watch. It now focuses on design and functionality differentiation, and hardware-software integration, rather than new product development. In March 2019, Apple announced that its business model is shifting, and it will now put most of its energy into becoming a digital services provider – with the launch of an Apple streaming channel expected in the near future.

Retail and online store expansion is also important to the corporation, because it seeks a high-quality relationship with the customer.

Apple fundamental analysis: how to analyse Apple

Before choosing to buy, sell or trade Apple shares, it’s important to conduct a thorough fundamental analysis. Fundamental analysis is an in-depth method of studying a company’s financials and external factors to gauge the value of its shares. This method often uses various ratios to determine the value of stock and estimate price movements, such as the price-earnings ratio (P/E), relative dividend yield and return on equity (ROE).

Apple’s price-to-earnings ratio

Apple’s P/E ratio is one way to measure its stock value. Essentially, it explains how much you’d have to spend to make $1 in profit. A high P/E ratio – compared to competitors – could mean the stocks are overvalued.

The P/E ratio is calculated by dividing the market value per share by the earnings per share. The earnings per share are calculated by dividing the total company profit by the number of shares it has issued.

Apple’s relative dividend yield

Dividend yield is a company’s annual dividends – the portion of profit paid out to shareholders – compared to its share price. The relative dividend yield is the dividend yield of a single stock compared to that of the entire index – in this case the US Tech 100. To calculate Apple’s relative dividend yield, first calculate its dividend yield by dividing its annual dividend by the current share price. Next, divide the dividend yield by the average dividend yield for the US Tech 100. A low relative dividend yield could suggest that the shares are overvalued when measured against competitor shares.

Apple’s return on equity

Apple’s ROE measures return on assets – it's expressed as a percentage. ROE is calculated by dividing net income by stakeholder equity. A low ROE could be a possible indicator of overvalued shares. That’s because it would show that Apple is not generating a lot of income relative to the amount of shareholder investment.

Join IG Academy to learn more about fundamental analysis.

How to buy Apple shares

You can buy Apple shares with our share dealing platforms or US options and futures account.. Buying the shares means you’ll own the shares outright and have to pay their full value upfront. Shareholders can profit from share price growth and dividend payments.
There are four easy steps to follow if you want to buy Apple shares:

1. Open a share dealing or US options and futures account: you can open an account with us in just a few minutes
2. Log in: log in to your account and go to your ‘My IG dashboard’
3. Find Apple shares: once you’ve opened and funded a share dealing account, you’ll be able to buy your first Apple shares. Open the platform for your share dealing account, go to the 'finder' panel on the platform, type in and select ‘Apple’
4. Choose how to buy: for US listed shares, options and futures, you'll only trade 'on exchange'. This means interacting directly with the order book of the relevant exchange. You can adjust the order type and the expiry. Note that before trading in US markets, you’ll need to complete a W-8BEN form..

When you get confirmation of your transaction, you’ll see those shares in your account. If the price moves, you’ll see the change in your account. We’ll deposit any dividends into your account as soon as we receive the relevant payment.

How to sell Apple shares

Once you have bought your Apple shares, there could be a time when you want to sell them – either to realise a profit or to avoid a loss. To sell your shares via our share dealing service:

1. Select ‘Apple’ in open positions
2. Click on ‘sell’
3. Choose the amount of shares you’d like to sell
4. Confirm the deal

To sell the shares via your US options and futures account

1. Go to ‘positions’
2. Right click on AAPL
3. Select ‘close position’
4. Review and submit the order

How to trade Apple shares

Trading Apple shares is different to share dealing because you don’t own the underlying asset. You can go long if you believe the share price will rise or go short if you think the share price will fall. If you decide to trade Apple shares, you can trade with leverage. This means you put down a small deposit – referred to as the margin – to get full market exposure. You need to bear in mind that this amplifies your exposure, as your profit or loss is based on the full size of your position, not the deposit. If you want to open a leveraged position, you can do this with a CFD or spread betting account.

• Apple shares CFD trading

A contract for difference (CFD) is a contract where you agree to exchange the difference in the price of Apple stock from when you open your position to when you close it. To go long on Apple shares, you’d buy the market and to go short on Apple shares, you’d sell the market.

Find out more about CFD trading

• Apple shares spread betting

If you spread bet on Apple stock, you place a bet on whether the share price will rise or fall. If AAPL moves as you predicted, you’ll make a profit. But if the stock moves against you, you’d incur a loss.

Find out more about spread betting

Sources:

¹ Deposits for leveraged trades are 20%-25% on 99.77% of tier one US shares.
² Tax laws are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances. Tax law may differ in a jurisdiction other than the UK.