We recently published a list of 15 Best Blue Chip Stocks to Buy According to Billionaires. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stands against other best blue chip stocks to buy according to billionaires.

Is A Potential Trade War on the Horizon?

The US stock market is showing volatility after President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of sweeping 10% tariffs on all US trading partners and higher tariffs on countries with a trade deficit with the US.

Economists and investors believe President Trump’s tariff policies could potentially lead to a trade war with America’s trading partners, propelling inflation even higher. These two factors could plunge the US into an economic slowdown, and the markets could potentially sell off quickly if a recession materializes among its looming threats.

On April 10, CNBC reported that stock prices rose sharply a day before after declining for four days straight following President Trump’s announcement of a pause in a significant part of his tariff plan. The White House said that Democratic lawmakers were indulged in partisan games by inquiring if any stock market purchases conducted in recent days were undertaken with prior knowledge of the fact that President Trump would authorize a pause in his tariff plans. Trump announced higher tariffs on China even after he announced a 90-day pause for steeper-than-baseline rates for several other countries.

READ ALSO: 10 Best Medical Stocks to Buy According to Billionaires and 10 Best Organic Food Stocks to Buy According to Billionaires.

Record High Tariffs in the US

On April 11, Erica York, economist and the vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation’s Center for Federal Tax Policy, talked to CNBC’s “The Exchange” about the ongoing scenario and said that the imposition of around 145% total tariff on Chinese goods would result in a suspension of most trade between the US and China. She said:

“It depends on how narrowly the tariff is applied or how broadly it’s applied, but generally, if you get north of a triple-digit tariff, you are cutting off most trade.”

She further opined that:

“There may still be some things without any substitutes that companies just have to foot the bill, but for the most part, that cuts it off.”

The economist said that Trump’s new China tariffs, along with the others he implemented, would raise the average tariff rate to record highs the country hasn’t seen since the 1940s. The current market volatility has created numerous remarkable investment opportunities, so let’s look at the 15 best blue chip stocks to buy according to billionaires.

Our Methodology

We reviewed financial media reports and ETFs to compile an initial list of blue chip stocks and selected stocks that have a 5-year revenue growth rate of at least 10%. We have also considered the popularity of these stocks among billionaire investors. These billionaires are founders or managers of some of the world’s leading hedge funds and companies. We also added the number of hedge fund holders for each stock as of fiscal Q4 2024, and sourced the hedge fund sentiment data from Insider Monkey’s database.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Number of Billionaire Investors: 21

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 166

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) designs, manufactures, and sells smartphones, personal computers, wearables, accessories, and related products and services worldwide. The company’s stock is facing turbulence and skepticism after Trump imposed 125% tariffs on China, which is where much of Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) products come from.

Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring released a note on April 10, speculating that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) could experience a $7 billion to $8 billion drop on next year’s iPhone sales even if the company manages to reroute around 60% of its production to India. The analyst maintained an overweight rating on the stock and set a one-year price target of $220 per share, based on the expectations that it would route around 50% of the tariff costs to suppliers, lowering the effect on its EPS.

Apart from these circumstances, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) holds a significant premium brand and market position, supported by highly in-demand hardware devices. It is also a financially sound company, generating a notable $36.3 billion in net income in fiscal Q1 2025, resulting in a sizable free cash flow. Analysts are bullish on the stock, and its median price target of $198.15 implies an upside of 26.17% from current levels.

Overall, AAPL ranks 13th on our list of the best blue chip stocks to buy according to billionaires. While we acknowledge the potential for 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. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AAPL but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.

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