Technology Stocks And EV Predictions For 2023: Gene Munster Sizes Up Apple, Tesla, Ford And More

With the new year now underway, analysts and stock market experts are sizing up what could happen in 2023. Here are some predictions from Loup Ventures and its Managing Partner Gene Munster.

What Happened: The SPDR S&P 500 Global ETF SPY had its worst performance since 2008 in 2022, down over 19%.

The down year for the S&P 500 and many sectors could make it hard to predict what’s ahead for stocks in 2023. Munster shared his annual predictions for the year ahead, with a focus mainly on the technology sector. For more on Munster’s 2023 thoughts, check out his interview with Benzinga on PreMarketPrep below.

Munster’s Predictions:

1. The FAANG stocks will outperform the S&P 500 in 2023: FAANG is one of the most commonly used stock acronyms and covers the companies of Meta Platforms META, Apple Inc AAPL, Amazon.com Inc AMZN, Netflix Inc NFLX and Alphabet Inc GOOGGOOGL. These stocks were down 48% in 2022, turning in a worse performance than the S&P 500.

“The reason why we are optimistic on FAANG is that these companies continue to operate high-quality, generational business. In 2022, most FAANG names have not experienced an impairment to their core business,” Munster said.

Related Link: Gene Munster Tells Benzinga Where He Thinks Tech Will Go In 2023 

2. Apple will unveil mixed reality headset in late 2023: A repeat of a 2022 prediction by Munster, the managing partner thinks 2023 will be the year that Apple unveils its new headset. Munster thinks sales could start in 2024 for the device, with a $3,000 price target and an initial target market of developers.

3. Tesla delay announcement of Model 2: One of the big catalysts many are calling for with electric vehicle giant Tesla Inc TSLA is a more affordable vehicle. Munster thinks Tesla will delay the announcement of the Model 2 until 2024.

“If the company announces the lower priced car too early, they risk slowing sales of Model 3, while ramping capacity during what is likely to be a broader auto recession,” Munster said.

Munster said it is more likely that a preview of the Model 2 happens in 2024 with the product releasing in 2025.

4. F-150 Lightning will outsell Cybertruck: The highly anticipated electric pickup truck from Tesla is expected to launch in 2023 and could have over 80,000 deliveries. While the total is high, Munster sees Ford Motor Company F having over 100,000 deliveries of its electric pickup truck in 2023.

“In 2024, however, we look for the tables to turn when Cybertruck production is fully ramped,” Munster said.

The Cybertruck has reservations listed as high as 1.5 million units by some estimates.

5. Electric vehicles sales could disappoint: One prediction by Munster is that 2023 could be a disappointing year for electric vehicles as a result of the overall car market being hit. In 2022, electric vehicles made up around 6% of all new car sales. Munster sees that figure growing to 10%, but overall electric vehicle growth to be slower than some are anticipating.

6. Private equity will take several technology companies private: Valuations of technology stocks were hit in 2022 and Munster sees the result turning into some buyout candidates in 2023. Munster anticipates at least five deals done in the technology sector valued at $2 billion or more by private equity.

7. Some unicorns could go bankrupt: Along with valuations of public companies getting hit in 2022, private companies also saw valuations fall. Munster mentions Instacart going from a $39 billion valuation to $10 billion. The term unicorn refers to a private company valued at $1 billion or more. Munster sees the number of unicorns shrinking to less than 125 by the end of 2023, down from 750 in the middle of 2022 and 200 by the end of last year.

8. Macro thoughts: Outside of the technology predictions, Munster sees the potential of a deeper recession or “none at all.”

“The current consensus of a mild recession is unlikely according to the current and upcoming macro data along with potential revisions to past data, including jobs numbers,” Munster said.

Munster sees the market ending 2023 higher than the start of the year.

2022 Predictions: Along with the updated 2023 predictions, Munster success rate of the predictions from 2022.

1. Apple and Meta will be top performing FAANG stock: miss, Apple best performing, Meta worst performing.

2. Apple previews mixed reality headset: miss, see above

3. Electric Vehicle theme cools off: hit, many EV names down over 50%

4. Tesla 1.2 million deliveries, Rivian and Lucid will miss: hit

5. Quantum computing theme gets hot: hit

6. Sony Group Corp SONY will launch PSVR 2 headset: miss, coming in 2023

7. Big brands experiment with NFTs and digital goods: miss

Photo: courtesy of Shutterstock.