MW Apple's stock pares losses. Here's how to think about the latest saga with foldable iPhones.
By Britney Nguyen
Conflicting reports about the state of Apple's next hot device have investors jittery over what's been billed as a major catalyst for shares
Apple's stock fell on Tuesday following conflicting reports on its foldable iPhone.
Some analysts think this is finally the year that Apple will unveil a foldable iPhone - and the impending launch has been hailed as a potential catalyst for the stock.
But Apple shares $(AAPL)$ fell on Tuesday as investors assessed whether the release, expected this fall, will go off without a hitch.
The catalyst was a Nikkei Asia report from early Tuesday, which said that the first shipments of the new model could be delayed for up to months due to engineering issues coming up in early testing.
Apple shares were down 5.1% at their intraday lows, but pared losses to end the session off 2.1%. Bloomberg reported midday that the foldable iPhone was still on track to launch in the fall, when Apple usually announces its latest iPhone series.
It's understandable why Apple investors are sensitive to news around the foldable iPhone. The device could help usher in "the biggest upgrade cycle in the last four years," Gil Luria, head of technology research at D.A. Davidson, told MarketWatch.
If Apple cannot deliver the foldable iPhone this year, that's potentially problematic, Luria said in emailed comments. The company needs "a compelling new iPhone offering this year," he said, or else it "could see declining iPhone sales starting at some point in the fourth quarter."
See more: Apple's stock could surge 20%, and the MacBook Neo could be a key catalyst
But Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani said in a Tuesday note that, based on his conversations with industry insiders, he thinks a delay "would be surprising."
He agreed that the device launch could benefit Apple, lifting average selling prices and device gross margins. He expects the starting price for the model to be between $2,000 and $2,500, and said that if Apple can ship between 12 million and 15 million units, it "would be a meaningful driver" of growth in fiscal-year 2027.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment from MarketWatch.
The movement in Apple's stock on Tuesday could also partly relate to evolving investor perceptions about the conflict in Iran. Apple's stock had been considered "a relatively defensive play" in the initial stages of the war between the U.S. and Iran, Paul Meeks, managing director at Freedom Capital Markets, told MarketWatch. But as President Trump's deadline for Iran negotiations draws near, the appeal of safer plays may be fading.
Apple's management is already under pressure to set and deliver upon an artificial-intelligence strategy, Meeks said. For his part, he thinks the stock is "steeply valued," trading at about 27-times forward earnings.
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-Britney Nguyen
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 07, 2026 17:31 ET (21:31 GMT)
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