Apple just dethroned Nvidia as the world's most valuable company, but it may not hold the title for long as worries about price hikes mount.
The iPhone maker benefited from the anti-artificial intelligence trade on Monday, with its stock climbing 1.2% as investors piled into Big Tech safe havens. That lifted Apple's market cap to $4.95 trillion, meaning it became the largest company by total valuation for the first time since May 2025.
Still, some on Wall Street think now would be a good time to sell. Even as concerns about circular financing and competition from China drag down Nvidia and other AI stocks, Apple's problems are piling up.
The company may soon have to start hiking iPhone prices to offset soaring memory-chip costs and soft demand. That may make it tough to maintain earnings growth, particularly if the company's next device, the iPhone 18, doesn't wow consumers.
"Investors are too complacent," KeyBanc analyst Brandon Nispel said in a research note on Monday. He rates the stock Underweight, with a $250 price target that implies it could drop 26% from its level of $336.91 as of Monday's close of trading.
"With Apple providing a safe haven to the selloff in semis, we think they are missing the bigger picture," Nispel added, warning of weak iPhone sales volumes and the knock-on effect that would have on revenue for services like iCloud and Apple Music.
The stock isn't cheap following a 24% rally this year. Apple was fetching 38 times expected earnings for the current fiscal year as of Monday's close, a hefty premium to its five-year average.
Apple shares climbed 0.6% to $338.96 in Tuesday's premarket session. Nvidia stock slipped 0.5% after dropping 5% in the previous session.
Apple's market cap will top $5 trillion for the first time ever if the stock reaches $340.43, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
The iPhone maker may well notch that milestone -- but it will be tough to maintain such a lofty valuation.
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