Cramer says Apple’s rally shows why you should own the stock

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Monday that Apple The latest move, up nearly 9.95 points, or about 4%, underscores why investors should own the stock rather than try to trade it and why the market as a whole has followed suit.

Apple helped push the Dow up 1.12%, the S&P 500 up 1.07% and the Nasdaq up 1.37%, fueled by three bullish calls from analysts, including Ben Reitzes, a longtime Apple watcher at Melius Research, who Cramer said “has been on board the whole way.” Apple hit a record high late in trading on Monday.

“As long as Apple makes the best products, people will buy them,” Cramer said.

Cramer touted the iPhone 17 lineup as proof of the tech giant’s unrivaled product cycle. As Cramer discussed with Apple CEO Tim Cook last month, from the lightest version to the rugged model, demand is strong and features like enhanced selfie technology make Apple devices stand out. Price stability, helped by trade-in values ​​and carrier subsidies, has boosted Apple’s appeal, while the iPhone Air’s sleek shape has caught consumers’ attention.

Cramer said the recovery was predictable, but many investors have been distracted by persistent negativity. Criticism has seized on employee departures to Meta, concerns about Siri, weak sales in China and incremental upgrades.

Analysts now see upside potential in China through 2026 and momentum for new devices, including a potential foldable iPhone next year. Reports from Evercore and Loop Capital highlight double-digit growth in Apple’s services and a multi-year phone cycle ahead, reinforcing the stock’s long-term potential.

Cramer pointed to the 1.5 billion iPhones currently in use and the excitement in lines at product launches. Cramer also highlighted Apple’s influence with partners like Alphabet who reportedly paid more than $20 billion to make Google the default search engine on iPhones, demonstrating how Apple can monetize its ecosystem without heavy investment.

He suggested that Apple could take a similar approach with artificial intelligence, allowing chatbot developers to pay for iPhone integration, generating substantial margins without building its own AI model.

Cramer criticized traders who were trying to time Apple rather than own it. Many sold when sentiment turned negative and returned after the stock was already rising, missing most of the rally. Analysts, journalists and short sellers, he said, contributed to that fear but are now being forced to raise their estimates in response to Apple’s momentum. Cramer also cited other misunderstood companies, like Salesforce and Amazon, to illustrate how Wall Street negativity often peaks just as fundamentals are improving.

“If you would use common sense,” Cramer said. “If you checked phone carrier prices at Costco and asked a salesperson at an Apple store for specifications, then you had everything you needed to know why you should own, not trade, Apple.”