Apple’s shares rose nearly 2% in premarket trading after the company projected strong iPhone 17 sales for the holiday quarter, easing investor worries about supply delays in China. The forecast signals a rebound in demand following a sluggish fourth quarter and pushed Apple’s valuation back above $4 trillion earlier this week, joining Nvidia and Microsoft in the world’s most valuable companies.
The upbeat outlook also calmed investor concerns over Apple’s slower rollout of artificial intelligence features compared to other tech giants. Analysts say the company’s deliberate approach to AI integration prioritizes long-term stability over rapid deployment. “You don’t have to move fast when you’re Apple,” said Accuvest CIO Eric Clark. “You just have to get it right.”
Even with the latest rally, Apple remains among the year’s weakest performers in the “Magnificent Seven” group of mega-cap stocks. Still, investors continue to pay a premium for its reliability — Apple’s shares trade at 33.4 times profit expectations, higher than Microsoft’s 31.7 and Meta’s 22.3, according to LSEG data.
