Apple shares have become a "safe haven" amid concerns over AI spending. Should you buy them?

Apple's stock rose 27% in 2026, making the largest contribution to the S&P 500's 12% gain, according to Bloomberg. This performance was by far the best among the “Magnificent Seven” tech giants this year. It also stands in sharp contrast to the iPhone maker’s performance in 2025: back then, Apple’s stock rose by only 8% and ranked near the bottom of the list of the seven tech giants, the agency notes.

Amid sharp swings in sentiment surrounding artificial intelligence, investing in Apple has become one of the safest bets on the stock market: no matter what happens to the stocks of AI companies, Apple’s stock moves in the opposite direction, according to Bloomberg.

This trend was also evident on October 22—while the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.5% and the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF, whose portfolio includes shares of seven major tech giants, including Meta, Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft—fell 3%, Apple’s stock, by contrast, rose 0.7%.

The reason for this discrepancy is quite simple, as Bloomberg points out. Most tech giants are spending massive amounts on AI infrastructure, while Apple is barely participating in this race. Instead, the company is focusing on what it has historically done best—creating products that generate a buzz among consumers, such as the new foldable iPhone Duo.

Since Wall Street’s attitude toward AI spending appears to be constantly shifting, Apple stock has become the preferred way for investors to maintain a presence in the big tech sector while avoiding some of its volatility.

“Apple is a highly liquid hedge against the volatility of AI stocks. It’s a great position to have if you’re starting to worry about artificial intelligence but still want to stay in the tech sector,” said Jordan McColl, senior portfolio manager at Russell Investments. The company manages $418 billion in assets and holds Apple shares in several portfolios. According to McColl, Apple serves as a safe haven when the market starts to get jittery.

According to McColl, Apple stands out from other Big Tech companies thanks to its strong free cash flow and steady profit growth, while at Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta have seen their free cash flow plummet or even turn negative due to investments in AI infrastructure, Bloomberg notes. The chipmakers’ businesses are still growing rapidly, but investors fear that their profits will plummet if the tech giants begin to cut costs.

Investors are seeking a safe haven as sentiment surrounding artificial intelligence is shifting very quickly. The stocks of the largest investors in AI—Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta Platforms—as well as those of chipmakers, which are key to AI infrastructure—are fluctuating as Wall Street debates when—and if—the hundreds of billions of dollars in capital expenditures will pay off, according to Bloomberg. At the same time, the correlation between Apple’s stock and that of semiconductor manufacturers is becoming increasingly negative, and Apple’s stock itself often moves in the opposite direction from that of other tech giants, the agency notes.

For example, during the widespread sell-off of U.S. stocks on October 22, when the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.4%, and the S&P 500 lost 1.4%, the iPhone maker’s stock, by contrast, traded in positive territory—rising 0.7%. And last week, when concerns about the debt of cloud computing provider CoreWeave triggered a massive sell-off of AI stocks and the Philadelphia Stock Exchange’s semiconductor index (SOX) plummeted by more than 11%, Apple shares rose by 2%. The company stated at the time that demand for the foldable iPhone Duo had been “simply phenomenal.”

“If there’s more bad news for hyperscalers, it would make sense to sell stocks from the SOX semiconductor index and use the proceeds to buy Apple,” said Michael Matusek, chief trader at U.S. Global Investors. According to him, Apple is more of a defensive stock: it isn’t affected by the factors driving the chip sector. “Given how popular this paired trade—selling chips and buying Apple—has become, it’s much easier to just follow the trend. I wouldn’t go against it,” he added.

Apple shareholders' main concerns stem from the fact that the company is growing more slowly than other Big Tech firms, yet its market valuation remains very high. In a few weeks, Apple will report its results for the fourth fiscal quarter. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, its revenue for fiscal year 2026 will grow by about 15%, which is significantly lower than the tech sector’s overall growth rate. Furthermore, revenue growth is projected to slow to 9.7% in fiscal year 2027 and to 5.5% in fiscal year 2028.

At the same time, Apple shares are trading at 36 times earnings—the highest multiple since January 2008, according to Bloomberg. It is twice as high as Nvidia’s and significantly exceeds the average valuations of companies in the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 indices. Given this combination of factors, it may be difficult for Apple to continue outperforming the market, especially if investor sentiment toward companies with the highest AI spending and chipmakers improves again, the agency notes.

Overall, Wall Street is optimistic about Apple’s prospects: the stock has 27 “buy” recommendations (Overweight and Buy ratings), 14 “hold” recommendations, and five “sell” recommendations. However, analysts’ average price target for the iPhone maker’s stock—$335.44 per share—is about $10 lower than the current market price (Apple shares were trading around $346 on Thursday).

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor