Apple shares have gained just 10% in 2026, trailing the Nasdaq 100 by nine points, as investors grow weary of repeated delays to the company's AI plans.
Key Points:
- Apple stock is up only 10% this year, lagging the Nasdaq 100 after a WWDC that underwhelmed Wall Street.
- The rebuilt Siri lands this fall as a beta running on Google's Gemini model and Nvidia chips.
- At 33 times forward earnings, the stock carries a premium few delivered results yet justify.
Apple Stock Stumbles After WWDC
The stock just closed its worst week since February. A developer conference that failed to convince Wall Street that the long-promised upgrade cycle is near drove the selloff. It also marked Tim Cook's final keynote as chief executive.
Apple's overhauled Siri assistant arrives this autumn as a beta, built on a custom Google Gemini model running on Nvidia Blackwell chips. The new features will skip the European Union and China at launch, the company confirmed.
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Valuation Draws Scrutiny
Apple trades at more than 33 times projected earnings for the coming year, far above its decade average near 23. Only Tesla carries a richer price among the Magnificent Seven. That premium rests on an AI-driven iPhone upgrade cycle promised since 2024 and pushed back repeatedly.
Shares jumped 15% in May on pre-conference optimism, their best month since 2022, then slid as the gains faded. Revenue should grow roughly 15% in the fiscal year ending September, up from 6.4% a year earlier, though analysts expect the pace to cool toward 8.6% in fiscal 2027.
Analysts Question Apple AI Payoff
"There's a bit of fatigue with Apple and AI," said Tim Chubb, chief investment officer at Girard, pointing to years of slipped deadlines. Jed Ellerbroek of Argent Capital Management likened the wait to Charlie Brown chasing a football that keeps getting yanked away. Laura Martin, an analyst at Needham, was blunter, warning that Apple showed no way to charge more for its AI and looked too reliant on Alphabet.
The counterargument is simple. Apple holds an enormous cash pile, runs steady buybacks, and counts an installed base above a billion devices, and it is building a framework that could turn the iPhone into a distribution channel for Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini.
Apple first teased its AI vision at the 2024 developer conference, then delayed the full rollout more than once. Rivals shipped capable tools while the company kept promising more.
This year's beta arrived without the firm launch date many investors had waited two years to hear.
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