Today’s Change
Current Price
Apple (AAPL -0.28%), the leading global consumer electronics and device maker, closed at $315.34, down 0.28%. Investors weighed the foldable iPhone debut and Siri upgrades, while watching AI progress and the product cycle response.
Trading volume reached 64.7 million shares, coming in nearly 2% above its three-month average of 53.7 million shares.
How the markets moved today
The S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.48%) closed at 7,636, down 0.48%, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -0.64%) closed at 26,253, down 0.64%. In hardware and software technology, sector rivals Microsoft (MSFT -0.47%) closed at $491.65, down 0.47%, and Alphabet (GOOGL -2.28%) closed at $330.65, down 2.28%, as investors tracked AI competition pressure around Apple.
What this means for investors
Apple held its first major launch event with new CEO John Ternus today, and investors got to see the company’s first foldable phone. The company also unveiled new iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch models.
The foldable phone wasn’t unexpected, and investors’ muted reaction to today’s news was likely due to concern about upcoming margin pressure. Apple announced a $100 price increase for the iPhone 18 Pro series compared to the previous model, but that might not fully offset rising component costs.
Ternus argued that the next-generation iPhone is the best device for artificial intelligence (AI), but that wasn’t enough to generate excitement among investors either.
That might be because Apple stock is already trading at a lofty valuation. Its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of nearly 36 is well above its three-year average of about 30. Earnings results will have to help justify that going forward.
Howard Smith has positions in Alphabet, Apple, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
