Apple shareson Tuesday remained tepid even as the tech giant topped $4 trillion in market value for the first time. Apple becomes the third Big Tech company to hit the milestone, as robust demand for its latest iPhone models allayed fears over its slow progress in the AI race. Apple’s shares have gained about 13 per cent since the new launches on September 9, in a remarkable turnaround that pushed the stock into positive territory for the first time this year. Apple shares have gained more than 7 per cent this year, widely underperforming the tech-heavy Nasdaq’s about 22 per cent gain.

Apple shares had struggled earlier this year on concerns over tough competition in China and uncertainties around how the company would navigate high U.S. tariffs on Asian economies such as China and India, its major manufacturing hubs.

The latest smartphones, including the iPhone 17 line-up and the iPhone Air, wooed back customers from Beijing to Moscow within the first few weeks of launch, while the company has swallowed the high costs from the tariffs.

Analysts said the iPhone Air’s slim design could help fend off rivals such as Samsung Electronics, while early sales of the iPhone 17 outperformed its predecessor by 14 per cent in the U.S. and China, data from research firm Counterpoint showed.

Brokerage Evercore ISI expects the strong demand for Apple’s latest iPhones to help it surpass market expectations for the three-month period ending in September and issue upbeat forecasts for the quarter ending in December.

Apple is the third company to hit the $4 trillion mark after Nvidia and Microsoft. Nvidia currently tops the table with a market value of more than $4.5 trillion.

Apple’s cautious approach to AI had fueled concerns it could lose out on what could be the industry’s biggest growth catalyst in decades. Recent reports also indicate that the company is losing a number of its senior artificial intelligence executives to Meta.

The company was slow to roll out its Apple Intelligence suite, including a ChatGPT integration, while an AI upgrade to its voice assistant Siri has been delayed until next year.

Apple has explored several tie-ups with Alphabet’s Gemini AI, Anthropic and OpenAI, according to reports.

Apple reported its strongest quarterly results in years during the April-June period, with double-digit growth across key segments and its forecasts were better than analysts’ expectations. The company is expected to announce its fourth-quarter results on October 30.

The iPhone maker’s shares trade at 33.2 times its earnings projected for the next 12 months, higher than the 27.42 for Nasdaq 100, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Q1. Does Apple have any tie-up?
A1. Apple has explored several tie-ups with Alphabet’s Gemini AI, Anthropic and OpenAI, according to reports.

Q2. Who is leading among Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft?
A2. Apple is the third company to hit the $4 trillion mark after Nvidia and Microsoft. Nvidia currently tops the table with a market value of more than $4.5 trillion.