Tesla is down 22% this year while Apple has fallen 15%. By contrast, Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. have all declined 29% or more, roughly the same as the Nasdaq 100 Index.The electric-vehicle maker is big on revenue growth but shorter on profits, and several years ago it was burning so much cash it wasApple’s expansion, by contrast, has slowed to a crawl, yet it has become a profit juggernaut with an expected $100 billion in net income this fiscal year.
Apple and Tesla are similar in that they have huge market values — $2.4 trillion and $862 billion, respectively — which means they benefit from flows into funds that track major indexes. “The electric-vehicle story is still in the early innings and Apple gets a huge amount of its revenue from subscriptions or a recurring base, which means it’s more stable.”
Meanwhile, some of the volatility in Tesla this year is related to CEO Elon Musk’s decision to buy Twitter Inc., a deal he is trying to get out of.