S&P Affrims Corp. Rating on Apple (AAPL); Assigns 'A-1+' CP Rating; Outlook Stable

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today said it assigned its 'A-1+' commercial paper rating to Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) At the same time, we affirmed our 'AA+' corporate credit rating on Apple and the ratings on its senior unsecured debt. The outlook is stable.



"The rating on Apple reflects the company's 'minimal' financial risk profile and 'strong' business risk profile, incorporating market-leading products, a globally diverse customer base, and strong profitability," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Martha Toll-Reed. 



Our business risk assessment also incorporates our view of Apple's "low" country risk and "moderately high" industry risk for the technology hardware industry. Furthermore, it is our expectation that Apple will maintain "exceptional" liquidity, which provides substantial cushion to offset the potential for some volatility in revenue growth and operating earnings. 



The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Apple will maintain significant net cash balances and a commitment to a minimal financial risk profile. 



While we do not expect a downgrade, the most likely cause of one would be competitive market conditions that result in a material decline in operating performance and discretionary cash flow, leading to a substantial decline in Apple's net cash position.



The potential for an upgrade is currently constrained by our view of Apple's business risk profile, which incorporates highly competitive and rapidly evolving market conditions and Apple's earnings vulnerability to a potential delay in, or modest success of, new product introductions. Therefore, an upgrade would likely depend on a favorable revision of our view of Apple's business risk profile to "excellent" along with the company maintaining a "minimal" financial risk profile.

You May Also Be Interested In

• Ryder System (R) Tops Q1 EPS by 43c
• Philip Morris International (PM) Tops Q1 EPS by 9c; raises guidance
• UCB (UCB:BB) (UCBJY) PT Raised to EUR135 at UBS