Post-U.S.-election policy, as well as Apple’s ability to continue expanding its global footprint. And, its success in avoiding disruption of its low-cost production efforts.

Apple recently scrapped its Project Titan, which aimed to develop a self-driving car to compete with Tesla and others. This ends about a decade of speculation and efforts in this area. Apple will settle instead for applying what it learned from that ill-fated project to other parts of its business, including Apple Carplay.

“Safe” and “stock market investing” are two things that simply do not overlap. That is evidenced by the fact that this leading company’s stock has suffered numerous 50% drawdowns in its history, including an 81% peak-to-trough decline. The last big test for the broad stock market was in 2022, when the S&P 500 index fell 18%. Apple stock fell by 26%. So it is far from immune to macro market issues. That said, its strong financial condition is an above-average support mechanism for very long-term investors in the stock.