NEW YORK, Jan 2, 2026, 16:31 ET — After-hours
- Apple ended down 0.31% and was flat after the bell.
- Raymond James resumed coverage at “market perform,” citing valuation and few near-term catalysts. Investors
- A Financial Times report said Apple has cut back Vision Pro production and marketing after weak demand.
Apple Inc shares slipped on Friday after a brokerage note flagged a stretched valuation and a report said the company has pulled back on Vision Pro production. The stock closed down 0.31% at $271.01 and was little changed in after-hours trading, which takes place after the 4 p.m. close.
The move matters as investors head into 2026 looking for the next leg of growth beyond iPhone upgrades and services momentum. For a company Apple’s size, even incremental shifts in expectations can move the stock and the broader tech-heavy indexes.
Wall Street has been watching for clearer signs that Apple can turn its new AI push into revenue and a faster upgrade cycle. At the same time, questions over whether Vision Pro can scale beyond early adopters have lingered.
The S&P 500 was up about 0.2% late in the session, while the Nasdaq was little changed. Apple traded between $269.02 and $277.82.
Raymond James resumed coverage of Apple with a “market perform” rating — roughly equivalent to a hold — and urged investors to stay on the sidelines, citing valuation and a lack of near-term catalysts. Analyst Melissa Fairbanks wrote that Apple’s valuation “appropriately reflects these strengths, limiting near-term upside.” Investors
Fairbanks pointed to the iPhone 17 upgrade cycle as a driver of Apple’s recent gains and highlighted “Apple Intelligence” as a potential longer-term catalyst. She also said early adoption of on-device AI — features that run directly on the phone rather than in remote data centers — may be modest, the note said. Investors
Separately, the Financial Times reported Apple has scaled back production and marketing for its $3,499 Vision Pro headset after disappointing sales, citing industry estimates. The report said Apple’s Chinese manufacturing partner Luxshare halted production at the start of last year and that digital advertising spending fell by more than 95% in major markets including the United States and Britain.
The Financial Times said Apple shipped about 45,000 Vision Pro units during the 2025 holiday quarter and did not expand the device beyond 13 countries. Apple has not publicly commented on the report, the newspaper said.
Vision Pro’s struggles underline how hard it is to create a new hardware category at scale, even for Apple. The report said Meta’s Quest line dominates about 80% of the VR market, which has also been shrinking.
Investors are now turning to Apple’s next earnings update for a read on iPhone demand, services growth and margins, as well as any commentary on AI feature rollouts and spending. Investing.com lists Apple’s next earnings date as Jan. 29.
From a trading perspective, Apple is about 6% below its 52-week high of $288.62 and held above the day’s low near $269. The stock’s small drop on the day left it hovering near the bottom third of its 52-week range.
Big tech was mixed in late trading, with Microsoft and Meta lower while Alphabet rose, keeping attention on whether Apple can regain market leadership as 2026 gets underway.
