Apple shares have hit a record high—they're considered a safe bet. Is there still room for growth?
Apple has solidified its status as the largest tech giant by posting its best results in over a year / Photo: Kittyfly / Shutterstock.com
Apple shares hit a record high on Wednesday, November 4, jumping 5.3%, and continued to rise in premarket trading on Thursday. The company thus reinforced its status as a safe-haven asset for investors in the tech sector who are concerned about massive spending on AI and a possible slowdown in data center construction following the Democrats’ victory in the U.S. election, according to MarketWatch.
Wednesday’s rally marked Apple’s most significant price surge since May 2025. At the close of trading, its market capitalization reached $5.08 trillion, allowing it to widen its lead over Nvidia on the list of the world’s most valuable companies. The chipmaker has been in second place for about a week now.
"Apple Is Going Its Own Way"
The rise in Apple’s stock price is driven more by broader market trends than by corporate news, according to Luke Rahbari, CEO of Equity Armor Investments. On Wednesday, after the election results were announced, all major U.S. stock indices soared. Wall Street views the divided government as a guarantee of fewer regulatory surprises and lower Treasury yields, explains MarketWatch.
At the same time, the election results could provide Apple with additional support, as many of the elected Democrats have actively opposed the construction of new data centers, Rahbari notes. “Apple’s profits do not depend on the deployment of data centers. If the pace of AI development slows, this could even reduce the pressure that rising memory chip prices are putting on the company’s margins—although Apple itself currently expects memory prices to continue rising,” the analyst said.
While other tech giants are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in AI infrastructure, Apple is keeping its expenses under control, MarketWatch notes. The company has partnered with Google on the Gemini model and is sticking to its usual strategy of buying back shares. This modest approach used to draw a wave of criticism, but under current conditions, it works in the company’s favor.
By contrast, stocks tied to the continued development of AI fell on Wednesday: the iShares Semiconductor ETF, which tracks stocks in the semiconductor sector, lost more than 3%, CoreWeave shares fell 10%, and Nvidia shares dropped 3%.
Evercore reaffirmed its “buy” rating on Apple shares this week, calling them a safe haven, according to CNBC. It also noted that the company is staying out of the AI investment race. “This is precisely the company to keep in mind when investors are looking for defensive assets,” wrote the bank’s analyst.
Are there any risks?
Apple shares are now recovering from their losses earlier this week after the company’s quarterly report, released on Monday, failed to impress investors, noted David Bahnsen, chief investment officer at Bahnsen Group. “I think this is much more of a bet on the consumer sector than on technology,” he said.
Bansen agrees: the fact that Apple isn’t part of the group of hyperscalers—which includes Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft—has turned out to be its main advantage. “Investors are looking for a safe haven among mega-cap companies, and right now Apple is a good alternative to those stocks. Apple is charting its own course,” he added.
However, this protection comes at a high cost: over the past year, Apple’s valuation has diverged significantly from that of the tech sector as a whole, and the company’s stock is trading at a high premium. Their forward P/E ratio—which reflects the ratio of price to projected earnings—stands at nearly 40, noted Jeffrey Favuz, an analyst with Jefferies’ trading division. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq index’s P/E ratio has fallen significantly and is currently estimated at 20.3.
The majority of Wall Street analysts continue to recommend buying Apple stock: it has 27 “buy” ratings out of 29, and only six “sell” recommendations. However, the average price target is already below the latest closing price and implies a decline of about 4.5%.
Context
Apple’s status as a safe haven for investors weary of the fluctuating sentiment surrounding AI took shape throughout 2026. The company’s stock has risen 28% since the start of the year—the best performance among the “Magnificent Seven” tech giants and a sharp contrast to the 8% gain recorded at the end of 2025.
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 shares have become the preferred way for investors to maintain a presence in the big tech sector while avoiding some of its volatility, the agency reports.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
