The MacBook Neo Could Be the Best Reason to Buy Apple Stock
Key Points
Apple shares have gained about 6% since the March 11 launch of its budget-friendly MacBook Neo laptop.
The student-focused laptop appears to be popular with school districts -- a lucrative niche market for Apple.
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Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) launched its new low-priced laptop, the MacBook Neo in March -- and that should be good news for investors. Starting at $599 with a 13-inch Liquid Retina display, this laptop is intended to make the Mac experience "even more accessible to millions of people around the world."
MacBook Neo has gotten enthusiastic reviews and quickly sparked strong demand. This budget laptop was a guest star on Apple's recent quarterly earnings call on April 30, when company executives shared good news about the low-cost laptop's big positive impact on Mac sales.
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Here are a few big reasons why MacBook Neo might be a powerful reason to buy Apple stock.
Image source: Apple.
Mac sales are up 6% year over year
By launching the MacBook Neo, Apple seems to be trying to drive additional sales beyond its flagship iPhone products. For years, many Apple observers questioned whether the company could design a low-cost laptop that fit the brand's premium standards. MacBook Neo seems to fit the bill -- and overall Mac sales are up because of it.
According to the company's most recent earnings report on April 30, the iPhone still accounted for $56.99 billion of quarterly net sales -- about 51% of Apple's total sales. But the Mac category is showing strong growth, with sales up about 6% year over year.
On the April 30 earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that "the customer response to MacBook Neo has just been off the charts, with higher-than-expected demand." The low-cost laptop seems to be achieving the strategic goal of attracting new customers who might have been reluctant to pay for higher-priced laptops. Cook also said that the company "set a March record for customers new to the Mac, partly due to the Neo."
MacBook Neo: a niche market in education
When I was growing up, Apple computers were frequently used in public school classrooms. MacBook Neo is continuing this legacy with a discounted education price starting at $499. This could help Apple's affordable laptop make bigger inroads with public school buyers and other education institutions.
On its latest earnings call, company executive Kevin Parekh said that the Kansas City Public Schools are "switching their high school students from Windows laptops and Chromebooks to MacBook Neo." There are about 54 million K-12 students in the United States, according to August 2025 Census data. If Apple could sell $499 MacBook Neo laptops to half of this potential education market (27 million students), that would mean about $13.5 billion of new revenue.
Apple stock has just slightly underperformed the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 index during the past year. The company's shares are up 1.8% year to date and have gained 6.1% since the March 11 launch of MacBook Neo.
AAPL data by YCharts
But this low-cost laptop isn't the only reason to buy Apple stock. The company's most recent quarterly revenue reached $111.2 billion, up 17% year over year, and its diluted earnings per share were up 22% year over year. Apple's new product launches seem to be hitting the mark. MacBook Neo is an inspiring reminder that this leading technology company could still have new markets to expand into, and new opportunities to grow.
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Ben Gran has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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