New York, Jan 7, 2026, 09:25 EST — Premarket
- Apple shares down about 1.9% in premarket trade, set for a weaker open
- Traders watch U.S. labor data for clues on rates after a sharp tech-led run
- App Store class action appeal and Jan. 29 earnings are the next big stock catalysts
Apple Inc shares were down $5.04, or 1.9%, at $262.36 in premarket trading on Wednesday, after closing at $267.40 in the prior session.
The slip comes with investors fixated on labor data and what it means for interest rates, after a tech-led rally in the previous session. “It’s not giving you a great look into what’s happening,” Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners, said of the ADP report. 1
Payrolls processor ADP reported U.S. private payrolls rose by 41,000 in December, below the 47,000 economists polled by Reuters had forecast. The figures are an early checkpoint ahead of Friday’s government jobs report. 2
Apple is also in focus on the legal front, after customers asked the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate a proposed class action accusing the iPhone maker of inflating prices by monopolizing the market for apps. A federal judge in October decertified a class of nearly 200 million consumers who claim Apple’s App Store rules led to $20 billion in overcharges.
At around $262 a share, Apple’s market value is about $3.88 trillion. The stock trades at roughly 35 times trailing earnings, a common valuation gauge that compares the share price with the past year’s profit.
The next major company catalyst is Apple’s fiscal first-quarter results on Jan. 29, with a conference call scheduled for 5 p.m. ET. That lands a day after the Federal Reserve’s Jan. 27-28 policy meeting, keeping rate expectations close to the story as Apple updates investors on the holiday quarter.
But the script can flip fast. A stronger-than-expected jobs report or firmer wages can push Treasury yields higher and hit high-multiple tech, while the App Store litigation risk is hard to price until courts weigh in.
Next up is the Labor Department’s nonfarm payrolls report on Friday, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, followed later in the month by Apple’s Jan. 29 earnings and outlook. 3
