Apple shares dipped 0.2% to $275.93 in after-hours trading Thursday following EU regulators’ decision not to label the company’s Maps and Ads services as “gatekeepers” under the Digital Markets Act. The bloc pointed to low usage and limited market impact as reasons. Earlier, Apple’s stock fluctuated between $279.41 and $273.32. The company, valued at roughly $4.05 trillion, said, “These services face significant competition in Europe.” (Reuters)
The “gatekeeper” tag matters because it could impose additional duties on how a service deals with competitors, such as rules designed to help users switch providers more easily. This ruling cuts down one slice of regulatory risk for Apple’s services just as investors are re-evaluating Big Tech over another concern: the expenses tied to building out AI.
U.S. stocks closed sharply lower, with the Nasdaq slipping 1.57%, as investors dumped AI-related shares amid doubts over when hefty spending will start generating revenue. “We’re seeing this volatility about whether this investment will translate, ultimately, into results,” said Tom Hainlin, an investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. (Reuters)
After the bell, Amazon announced plans to pour around $200 billion into capital expenditures in 2026, far exceeding analyst forecasts. The news knocked its shares down nearly 8% in after-hours trading. This call echoed the earnings message from earlier this week: Wall Street is demanding returns that match the company’s hefty spending. (Reuters)
Alphabet kicked things off a day earlier by announcing plans to boost capital spending sharply—to between $175 billion and $185 billion in 2026, up from $91.45 billion in 2025. The move aims to ease computing bottlenecks and ramp up AI development. CEO Sundar Pichai told analysts, “We are seeing our AI investments and infrastructure drive revenue and growth across the board.” The company also highlighted a cloud partnership with Apple, designed to back the iPhone maker’s AI features using Gemini models. (Reuters)
U.S. data threw another curveball at rate-sensitive tech stocks. Weekly jobless claims climbed 22,000 to 231,000, while job openings dropped sharply by 386,000 to 6.542 million in December—the lowest since September 2020. “More than anything, we see the data as reflective of ongoing judicious hiring practices,” said Oren Klachkin, a financial markets economist at Nationwide. (Reuters)
Apple reported a robust quarter last week, with fiscal first-quarter revenue hitting $143.8 billion—a 16% jump from the previous year. Earnings per share came in at $2.84, while revenue from iPhone and Services hit record levels. (Apple)
Apple’s next key date is its annual shareholder meeting, set for Feb. 24 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific time. The event will be held virtually, the company’s investor relations site confirms. (Apple Investor Relations)
Thursday’s DMA call is limited in scope, but regulatory scrutiny of Big Tech tends to resurface in unexpected areas. If investors continue scaling back on pricey tech stocks over concerns about AI investments and rising interest rates, Apple could face pressure too.
Traders will eye Amazon’s upcoming spending plan to see if it fuels a further pullback from AI-focused stocks. Apple’s key upcoming events are the U.S. jobs report on Feb. 11, followed by its shareholder meeting on Feb. 24.
