New York, June 26, 2026, 06:04 EDT
- Apple lost around $263 billion in market value Thursday as shares sold off. Trading volume was 2.2 times the 65-day average, according to .
- Mac and iPad combined for 13.8% of Apple’s sales last quarter. The one-day loss in Apple’s equity was 17.2 times that amount.
- Conventional DRAM contract prices jumped 93%-98% in the first quarter and TrendForce is guiding for another 58%-63% gain in the second quarter.
- Nasdaq premarket hours are from 4:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET. U.S. cash trading had not opened.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shed over $250 billion in market value in a single day after hiking prices on its Macs and iPads, a drop that outpaced the sales base directly affected by the price increases.
Apple shares dropped $17.93, or 6.12%, to finish at $275.15 on Thursday, leading the Dow losers during a mixed U.S. trading session. In early Friday premarket activity at 5:45 a.m. EDT, Apple was up 0.27% at $275.90.
Apple’s Mac and iPad units posted $15.3 billion in net sales out of $111.2 billion for the March quarter. But the drop in stock value came in at roughly 17 times those Mac and iPad sales from the quarter, suggesting the bigger worry in the market was around iPhone pricing and margins.
Apple bumped up MacBook Neo’s starting price to $699, up from $599. A MacBook Air with 512 gigabytes now costs $1,299, previously $1,099. The 1-terabyte MacBook Pro moved higher as well, to $1,999 from $1,699. The iPad Air increased to $749 from $599. The iPhone isn’t part of these first hikes.
Apple’s memory costs are still high and likely to stay that way, said Ben Bajarin, CEO of Creative Strategies. Apple CEO Tim Cook warned analysts to expect “significantly higher memory costs.” IDC’s Nabila Popal said higher prices are coming for the iPhone, too: “The iPhone isn’t spared, its hike is coming.” Reuters
DRAM suppliers kept inventories very low in the second quarter, according to TrendForce, with most extra supply moving to high-capacity memory for AI servers. PC makers and smartphone vendors are still seeing tight supply, the firm said.
Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is the other big mover. The chipmaker posted fiscal third-quarter revenue of $41.46 billion, jumping from $9.30 billion a year ago. Non-GAAP gross margin landed at 84.9%. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra pointed to the results as proof of the “strategic value of memory in the AI era.” Micron Technology
Micron said Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) and other customers have agreed to $22 billion in supply deals to secure memory. Jake Behan, head of capital markets at Direxion, told Reuters those contracts mean “visibility is improving.” But Ben Barringer of Quilter Cheviot told Reuters that the contracts could be changed if demand falls. Reuters
Indexes moved lower as pressure continued. The Nasdaq composite lost 0.5% Thursday. The S&P 500 dipped by less than 0.1%. The Dow managed to gain 0.1%. Through Thursday, the Nasdaq was down 4.4% for the week.
Apple’s latest price hikes have put pressure on some of the same trades that boosted Micron after earnings, according to Nutshell Asset Management CIO Mark Ellis. He told Reuters there’s worry about “the spenders, the hyperscalers” and whether AI spending delivers a return on capital. Reuters
Wedbush stuck to its outperform rating on Apple and kept its $400 price target, saying higher memory prices had “forced Apple’s hand.” Some bulls like Deepwater’s Gene Munster said the stock drop “feels like an overreaction,” pointing to Apple’s tight hold on its user ecosystem. Investopedia
Apple will report its next earnings on July 30. Analysts on MarketWatch expect Q3 earnings of $1.89 per share and see $8.76 for full-year 2026.
