Apple Stock Today: Record Highs, Rare Layoffs and a New Smartphone Crown

Published: November 29, 2025

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is wrapping up the last week of November trading just below fresh record highs, as investors weigh booming iPhone 17 demand, upbeat guidance, potential new chip and AI partnerships – and a growing list of regulatory and legal battles from Brussels to New Delhi.

As of the early close on Friday, November 28, Apple shares finished at $278.85, up 0.47% on the day, leaving the stock just shy of its all‑time intraday high of $280.38 set earlier in the week and at the top end of a 52‑week range between roughly $169 and $280. ^[1]

According to recent estimates, Apple stock is up a little over 13% year‑to‑date in 2025, keeping it firmly in positive territory even as some analysts argue that much of the good news is already priced in. ^[2]

Key takeaways for Apple stock on 29 November 2025

Near-record share price: AAPL is trading just under its recent all‑time high around $280, with the last close at $278.85. ^[3]
iPhone 17 super‑cycle: Counterpoint Research now expects Apple to overtake Samsung as the world’s top smartphone seller for the first time since 2011, driven by iPhone 17 strength and an upgrade cycle inflection. ^[4]
China and Q1 guidance: Tim Cook is guiding for Apple’s December quarter to be the company’s “best ever”, helped by dominant Singles’ Day performance in China. ^[5]
Rare layoffs: Apple has cut dozens of jobs in its sales organization, a highly unusual move for the company and a sign of restructuring around enterprise, education and government customers. ^[6]
Regulation heats up: The EU is examining whether Apple Ads and Apple Maps should be classified as “gatekeeper” services, and in India Apple is challenging a new antitrust penalty law that could expose it to fines of up to $38 billion. ^[7]
Supply chain and chips: A new analyst note from Ming‑Chi Kuo says Intel is moving closer to manufacturing Apple’s next‑generation M‑series chips, signaling a possible second advanced‑node foundry partner alongside TSMC. ^[8]

Apple stock price and valuation snapshot

Friday’s half‑day session (post‑Thanksgiving) closed with Apple at $278.85, after trading between $275.99 and $279.00. The move keeps Apple within 1% of its record intraday high of $280.38 set on November 25 and caps a strong November rally. ^[9]

Recent data show:

52‑week range: roughly $169.21 – $280.38. ^[10]
Dividend yield: about 0.37%, reflecting Apple’s focus on buybacks over dividends. ^[11]
Trailing P/E: around 42x, with an average analyst price target near $278, essentially in line with where the shares trade today. ^[12]

A fresh valuation piece from Simply Wall St, published November 28, uses an updated discounted cash flow (DCF) model and estimates Apple’s intrinsic value at about $224 per share, concluding that the stock is roughly 24% above that modeled fair value and labeling it “overvalued” on that metric. ^[13]

On the other hand, the same analysis notes that Apple’s premium P/E multiple versus the broader tech sector is partly justified by its profitability, brand strength and growth prospects. ^[14]

In short: most of Wall Street still rates AAPL a “Moderate Buy”, but there’s growing debate about how much upside remains at these levels without new earnings catalysts.

iPhone 17, Singles’ Day and Apple’s push back to smartphone #1

The single most important driver behind Apple’s recent stock momentum is the iPhone 17 cycle.

A new report from Counterpoint Research – widely cited in financial media this week – forecasts that Apple will overtake Samsung to become the world’s top smartphone seller in 2025 and is likely to retain that position through 2029. ^[15]

Key points from the Counterpoint data and subsequent analysis:

iPhone shipments are expected to grow around 10% in 2025, compared with an estimated 4–5% growth for Samsung.
That would give Apple a projected 19.4% global market share versus Samsung’s 18.7%, reclaiming the crown it last held in 2011. ^[16]
The iPhone 17 lineup is driving double‑digit year‑on‑year sales growth in both the United States and China, as users who bought phones during the COVID‑era boom finally upgrade. ^[17]

China is particularly important. New Singles’ Day data cited by Benzinga show that during the month‑long November shopping season, Apple accounted for about 26% of all smartphones sold in China, and overall smartphone sales would actually have fallen year‑on‑year without Apple’s contribution. ^[18]

That surge underpins Tim Cook’s unusually bullish guidance for the December quarter (Apple’s fiscal Q1):

Cook told investors that December‑quarter revenue should be the “best ever” for Apple and the best ever for iPhone, with iPhone revenue expected to grow at a double‑digit rate year‑over‑year. ^[19]
CFO Kevin Parekh quantified that by guiding to 10–12% year‑over‑year revenue growth, which would put Q1 revenue in the $137–139 billion range – above the prior company record of $124.3 billion. ^[20]

For shareholders, this combination – stronger unit growth, premium pricing and a blockbuster holiday quarter – is the backbone of the current bull case for Apple stock.

Rare layoffs as Apple reshapes its sales operation

Against that upbeat demand backdrop, Apple also delivered a surprise: layoffs.

In a rare move for the company, Apple has eliminated dozens of jobs across its sales organization, according to a Bloomberg report published November 24. ^[21]

The cuts reportedly affect teams that sell Apple products and services to businesses, schools and government agencies. Management informed affected employees over the past couple of weeks, though the company has not disclosed the exact number of roles eliminated. ^[22]

For investors, the implications are mixed:

On one hand, trimming headcount in sales can be read as a cost‑discipline and efficiency move, especially as Apple leans more on online channels and partners.
On the other, it underscores a reality that even tech giants in near‑record territory are not immune to restructuring, and that Apple is still looking for ways to protect margins while it ramps up spending on AI, silicon and new product categories.

So far, the market reaction has been muted; Apple’s share price hit new highs after the layoffs became public, suggesting investors see the move as incremental rather than a red flag.

Intel, TSMC and the next generation of Apple silicon

One of the more intriguing storylines for Apple – and for the broader semiconductor sector – is a potential new foundry partnership with Intel.

A fresh note from well‑known analyst Ming‑Chi Kuo, reported by Benzinga on November 28, says Intel is “moving closer” to becoming an advanced‑node foundry supplier for Apple’s next‑generation M‑series chips. ^[23]

According to that report:

Apple has already signed a non‑disclosure agreement with Intel and received early versions of Intel’s 18A‑class process design kit, allowing Apple’s engineers to run detailed performance and power simulations. ^[24]
Intel could begin manufacturing Apple’s lowest‑end M‑series processors – the chips that power devices like the MacBook Air and possibly future iPad Pros – as early as 2027, depending on progress. ^[25]
Expected unit volumes (15–20 million chips per year initially) are modest next to Apple’s overall silicon demand, but the strategic impact is large: Apple would gain a second advanced‑node supplier alongside Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). ^[26]

For Apple stock, the significance is less about short‑term earnings and more about supply‑chain resilience and geopolitical risk management. A diversified foundry base could reduce Apple’s exposure to Taiwan risk – a factor that many institutional investors now explicitly model – while strengthening Apple’s bargaining power on pricing and capacity.

Succession and the “next Apple” narrative

Another theme quietly reshaping how Wall Street thinks about Apple is CEO succession.

A widely cited Benzinga analysis notes that Apple’s breakout to new highs around $280.38 per share – giving the company a market value above $4.1 trillion – has coincided with growing confidence that Apple has a clear succession plan beyond Tim Cook. ^[27]

Key points from that reporting:

J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee has framed the market’s new optimism around “succession clarity,” with hardware chief John Ternus often mentioned as a leading internal candidate for the top job. ^[28]
The thesis is that a Ternus‑led Apple would lean even harder into device‑centric innovation, using tightly integrated hardware, custom silicon and on‑device AI as its main competitive moat, rather than chasing cloud‑only AI strategies. ^[29]

So far, the succession story appears to be a supporting positive rather than a source of anxiety – the stock’s climb suggests investors believe any eventual transition will be orderly and continuity‑driven.

AI, Google and Apple Intelligence

Apple’s relative silence on AI compared with rivals like Microsoft and Google has been a recurring concern for some investors, but the narrative is changing.

Apple has already announced Apple Intelligence, its on‑device AI suite that will roll out more broadly over the next year, including a revamped Siri and deeper AI features across iOS and macOS. ^[30]
Earlier this year, multiple reports (most recently resurfacing in late November commentary from CNBC’s Jim Cramer) suggested Apple is exploring a multi‑billion‑dollar licensing deal to use Google’s Gemini model as a cloud back‑end for some Apple Intelligence features. While such a deal has not been officially confirmed, it continues to shape expectations for Apple’s AI roadmap. ^[31]

For Apple stock, the AI story is now less about catching up in flashy demos and more about how effectively the company can translate AI into device upgrades and services revenue – which loops back directly to iPhone 17 demand, future foldable models and ecosystem lock‑in.

India: massive growth opportunity meets massive legal risk

India remains one of Apple’s most important growth markets – and one of its most complex regulatory environments.

Retail and growth

The Economic Times reports that Apple will open its fifth retail store in India at Noida’s DLF Mall of India on December 11, building on strong demand following the iPhone 17 launch and the expansion of local manufacturing. ^[32]

Apple’s installed base in India has roughly quadrupled over the last five years, according to Counterpoint Research, underscoring why the company is leaning into premium retail, local assembly, and financing partnerships in the country. ^[33]

The $38 billion antitrust risk

At the same time, Apple is legally challenging India’s new antitrust penalty law in the Delhi High Court. That law allows the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to calculate fines based on a company’s global turnover rather than just its India revenue. ^[34]

According to a Reuters‑summarized court filing:

Apple argues that using global turnover is “arbitrary” and “grossly disproportionate”, and says its maximum theoretical exposure could be around $38 billion, based on 10% of its average global turnover over recent years. ^[35]
The case stems from a CCI investigation that previously found Apple’s App Store rules – particularly its restrictions on third‑party payment processors – to be “abusive conduct” on the iOS apps market, a finding Apple strongly disputes. ^[36]
The High Court is expected to hear the challenge in early December, but legal experts note that overturning a clearly worded statutory policy will be difficult. ^[37]

For investors, the Indian case is a tail‑risk event: it’s unlikely Apple would ultimately pay a $38 billion fine, but the possibility – and the precedent – is serious enough to feature in any long‑term risk assessment.

Europe: DMA pressure spreads to Apple Ads and Apple Maps

Apple already faces increased scrutiny in Europe under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which has designated the App Store, iOS and Safari as “core platform services” subject to strict interoperability and anti‑self‑preferencing rules.

On November 28, the European Commission confirmed that it is now examining whether Apple Ads and Apple Maps should also be labeled DMA “gatekeeper” services after both hit the law’s thresholds of more than 45 million monthly active users and a market value above €75 billion. ^[38]

Apple has acknowledged that Ads and Maps meet the numerical thresholds but argues they shouldn’t be treated as gatekeepers, saying:

Apple Ads is a relatively small player in EU digital advertising and doesn’t combine data across other Apple or third‑party services in the way some rivals do.
Apple Maps has limited usage in Europe compared with competitors like Google Maps and Waze, and doesn’t function as a critical intermediary between businesses and consumers. ^[39]

EU regulators now have 45 working days to decide whether to formally designate these services; Apple would then have six months to comply with DMA obligations if they are brought under the regime. ^[40]

This process won’t move Apple’s stock day‑to‑day, but it adds to the regulatory overhang around Apple’s services business, which has been a major margin and valuation driver in recent years.

Buffett trims Apple – but keeps it as his biggest bet

Another November storyline: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a 15% reduction in its Apple stake in Q3, cutting its holdings from about 280 million shares to around 238 million, according to the firm’s latest 13F filing summarized by MarketBeat. ^[41]

Important context:

Even after the sale, Apple remains Berkshire’s largest holding by a wide margin, and the reduction follows several earlier trims as the position swelled in value. ^[42]
MarketBeat data put Apple’s P/E at about 42x, dividend yield at 0.37%, and consensus analyst target at $278.22 – marginally below the current price, suggesting Wall Street sees Apple as fairly valued after its recent run. ^[43]

Buffett’s move is best read as profit‑taking in an outsized winner, not a vote of no confidence. Still, when the world’s most famous value investor consistently sells into strength, it tends to reinforce the narrative that Apple is no longer obviously cheap.

How all of this fits together for AAPL

As of November 29, 2025, the Apple stock story is a tangle of powerful tailwinds and non‑trivial risks:

Bullish forces

A very strong iPhone 17 cycle, with data from the US, China and global research firms all pointing to robust demand and market share gains. ^[44]
Management guiding for record December‑quarter revenue and iPhone sales, supported by Singles’ Day outperformance in China. ^[45]
A possible new Intel foundry partnership that could strengthen Apple’s supply chain and align with US industrial policy. ^[46]
A clear(er) succession narrative and a roadmap that leans into custom silicon, devices and Apple Intelligence. ^[47]

Bearish / cautionary forces

Rich valuation, with Apple trading around 42x earnings and at or above some models of fair value. ^[48]
Growing regulatory and legal exposure, from the EU’s DMA expansion to India’s global‑turnover penalty regime. ^[49]
A services business that is both a profit engine and a prime antitrust target, especially around App Store rules and advertising. ^[50]

For investors and observers reading Apple’s tape today, the message is fairly clear:

The operational story – iPhone 17 demand, China strength, smartphone crown, and the early outlines of an AI hardware strategy – remains very strong.
The market story – a $4‑trillion‑plus company priced for continued perfection – leaves less room for error if growth stumbles or regulators bite harder than expected. ^[51]

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