Apple's (AAPL -0.82%) continuing share decline means that the company is now trading for about 11.6 times earnings, despite its massive growth rates over the past three, five, and 10 years. The company now falls into an exclusive club, valuation-wise. Of the nearly 2,000 U.S.-listed companies worth more than a billion dollars, only 16 have a P/E less than 15, and three-year compounded revenue growth of more than 50%.
Apple is one of those companies. Most impressively, it's worth more than $450 billion more than the next closest company on the list. Yet, Apple's sheer size demonstrates why the company can't be considered "cheap" purely based on past growth. If the company were to grow sales at a compounded growth rate less than half of their rate over the past five years -- 25% -- Apple would exit the half decade with more in total sales than massive retailer Wal-Mart sells today.
In the video below, senior technology analyst Eric Bleeker explains the uniqueness of Apple's valuation, and why he still considers it a better buy than big tech peers like Intel and Microsoft.
