New York, January 5, 2026, 09:39 EST — Regular session
- Apple shares down 0.3% in early trade, lagging mixed U.S. benchmarks
- Foxconn posted record quarterly revenue, but said iPhone-linked sales slipped on FX
- Samsung co-CEO says Galaxy AI devices will double in 2026, intensifying the AI phone race
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) shares slipped 0.3% to $271.01 in early trading on Monday, as investors weighed fresh signals from a key iPhone assembler and a rival’s aggressive push into AI-enabled phones.
The read-through matters now because Apple’s stock is priced for steady growth, leaving little tolerance for demand or margin surprises as the first full week of 2026 gets underway. Supplier updates and competitor roadmaps often shape expectations before Apple provides its own quarterly outlook.
That focus has sharpened as investors look for clues on whether new on-device AI features can keep consumers upgrading premium phones, even as currency and component costs shift. Apple’s shares have been choppy, and Monday’s trade underscored how quickly the market reacts to the supply chain.
Taiwan’s Foxconn, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry, reported record fourth-quarter revenue, up 22.07% from a year earlier to T$2.6028 trillion ($82.73 billion), driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence products, the company said in a statement.
Foxconn said its smart consumer electronics segment — which includes iPhones — posted a slight revenue decline due to unfavorable exchange rates, while it also flagged a seasonal slowdown for information and communications technology products in the first quarter. Seasonal slowdown is the typical post-holiday dip in electronics demand.
Rival Samsung Electronics plans to double the number of its mobile devices with “Galaxy AI” features to 800 million units in 2026, up from about 400 million last year, as it leans on Google’s Gemini alongside its own Bixby assistant, its mobile co-CEO T M Roh told Reuters. “We will apply AI to all products, all functions, and all services as quickly as possible,” Roh said. Reuters
Samsung is trying to reclaim the top spot from Apple in smartphones and said the industry is not immune to an “unprecedented” memory chip shortage, which can pressure handset margins and, in some cases, prompt price increases. Apple is expected to enter the foldable phone category this year, Reuters reported. Reuters
Apple’s market value stood at about $3.0 trillion, and the shares traded at roughly 30 times earnings, a valuation that can magnify moves on incremental news.
In broader trading, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) was up 0.2% while the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ (QQQ) slipped 0.2%, pointing to a mixed tone under the surface.
Investors are also eyeing this week’s U.S. data, with the Employment Situation report for December 2025 due Friday, Jan. 9 at 8:30 a.m. ET, alongside other labor-market reads earlier in the week.
Apple is expected to report quarterly results on Jan. 29, according to the Yahoo Finance earnings calendar, with traders likely to focus on iPhone demand trends, services growth and any commentary on AI feature adoption and margins.
The risk for Apple bulls is that currency headwinds or higher component costs squeeze profitability just as competition in AI-enabled phones heats up, forcing a tougher marketing and pricing fight. Investors will next take their cues from Friday’s jobs report on Jan. 9 and Apple’s expected earnings date on Jan. 29.
