What Gives Apple (AAPL) a Competitive Edge?

Mar Vista Investment Partners, LLC, an investment management company, released its “Mar Vista U.S. Quality Premier Strategy” second-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The first half of 2025 concluded on a remarkable note, with U.S. stocks bouncing back from earlier volatility to reach new record highs. The S&P 500® Index and the Nasdaq Composite led the recovery, both ending the second quarter at all-time peaks. In the second quarter, the strategy returned +14.29% net of fees, compared to +11.10% and +10.94% returns for the Russell 1000 Index and the S&P 500 Index, respectively. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its second quarter 2025 investor letter, Mar Vista U.S. Quality Premier Strategy highlighted stocks such as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is an American multinational company that designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories. The one-month return of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was 8.12%, and its shares lost 7.86% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On July 10, 2025, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock closed at $212.41 per share, with a market capitalization of $3.173 trillion.

Mar Vista U.S. Quality Premier Strategy stated the following regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:

“Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares came under pressure in the first half of calendar 2025 amid concerns over softening iPhone demand, rising competition from Huawei in China, challenges related to the rollout of Apple Intelligence, its new on-device AI offering, and potential tariff-related headwinds. Despite these near-term pressures, we continue to view Apple as a competitively advantaged business, anchored by the strength of its ecosystem. With over 2 billion active devices and more than 1 billion paying subscribers, Apple benefits from a loyal customer base and a growing stream of high-margin, recurring services revenue. This stable cash flow enables continued investment in innovation, even during periods of cyclical softness. We believe the current headwinds are transitory, and Apple remains well-positioned to lead in the emerging category of AI-enabled edge devices.”

UBS Keeps $210 Target on Apple (AAPL) — China Still Key in Supply Chain

An Apple store displaying the latest in consumer electronics, from smartphones to wearables.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is in 8th position on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 159 hedge fund portfolios held Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) at the end of the first quarter, which was 166 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of AAPL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AAPL and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

In another article, we covered Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and shared the list of best stocks to invest in for good returns. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.