The “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks led the market’s post-pandemic boom. But as Big Tech sprints into the AI future, one big name is falling dangerously behind: Apple (AAPL). Once an undisputed tech heavyweight, it risks becoming the least magnificent of them all.
While the others — Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Facebook parent Meta (META), Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA), and Tesla (TSLA) — race ahead thanks to leaps in AI and demand for data centers, Apple is stuck in reverse. Its share price is down about 18% so far this year, making it the worst-performing member of the Mag 7 — and a drag on the very tech rally it once helped drive. Once the most valuable company in the world, Apple’s market cap is now in third place, behind Microsoft and Nvidia. The message from Wall Street? Apple still matters, but it’s not setting the tone anymore.
Apple’s Mag 7 peers have blazed new paths with AI in recent years. Microsoft has embedded generative AI into Office, Windows, and Azure — and is working on the next frontier, agentic AI. Google has rolled out Gemini across just about all of its products. Meta is pivoting from the metaverse to machine learning. Amazon has gone deep on infrastructure and developer tools through AWS to position itself as the AI enabler. Tesla has staked out a position at the forefront of embodied AI, from cars to robots. And Nvidia’s chips have become synonymous with the infrastructure powering the industry.
Meanwhile, Apple, late last year, finally unveiled Apple Intelligence, a suite of AI-driven features and a Siri revamp powered by ChatGPT. But Apple was late to the party, largely relied on a partner rather than a breakthrough, and has barely made a dent since. Rollout has been sluggish, features are still limited and easily found elsewhere, and Apple hasn’t announced much else. In a market moment defined by fast, flashy AI moves, the company has showed up late — and quietly.
The last big thing Apple announced was Vision Pro, its $3,500 headset that was pitched as a new computing platform. But sales have been underwhelming, and developer interest has fizzled. Analysts now say fewer than 500,000 units were sold in its first year, a fraction of expectations. The company’s attempt at an autonomous vehicle also flopped. It was shelved after 10 years and more than $10 billion.
While Apple’s Mag 7 peers seem to be building the future, Apple is updating the present. It makes cyclical hardware updates, but they’re evolutionary, not revolutionary.
Apple is expected to make announcements in the coming months. The most interesting might be AI-powered glasses that Bloomberg reports could feature built-in cameras, microphones, and speakers. But Meta already has a smart glasses partnership with Ray Ban (EL). Mark Zuckerberg’s company has sold two million pairs since the collaboration’s 2023 launch and is planning to produce 10 million units a year by 2026.
Apple’s first-quarter earnings report showed that hardware margins are dropping as its product line matures. Apple’s crown jewel Services segment (which includes the App Store, iCloud, Apple Music, and Apple TV) is growing, but it’s not growing fast enough to offset hardware stagnation. And legal scrutiny of Apple’s App Store looms large.
Wall Street loves high-margin, high-growth stories. Right now, Apple is high margin but low growth.
China has been central to Apple’s strategy for years, but the country is now a source of stress, slippage, and softening sales. In late 2024, iPhone shipments in China cratered by more than 20%, according to Counterpoint Research. Based on Canalys data for the first quarter of 2025, Apple now ranks fifth in China’s smartphone market. And Apple can’t even lean on its AI play as a differentiator in China. The company’s ChatGPT integration, part of Apple Intelligence, had to be stripped from iPhones to comply with China’s generative AI rules.
The company’s struggles in China don’t even take into account the swirling — and massive — economic headwinds from President Donald Trump’s tariffs. On Apple’s last earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said the company could see an estimated $900 million added to its costs this quarter, assuming tariff rates stayed the same. Trump’s tariffs on China have come down, but they remain unpredictable, and Apple is almost certain to feel their impact.
Apple has had to reassess its once-vaunted China-centric supply chain as geopolitics, nationalism, and business risk converge. Over the past two years, the company has aggressively shifted manufacturing out of China — pumping billions into India and shifting select operations to Vietnam for components such as AirPods and MacBooks.
But Trump has repeatedly attacked Apple and Cook for moving production to India, not the U.S. The president recently floated the idea of a 25% tariff on all imported iPhones. And Cook was notably missing from Trump’s Middle East tech tour, which featured other Big Tech leaders. Once considered the Trump whisperer of Big Tech, Cook has become a more distant figure from the White House in recent months.
Announcements in the coming months could, of course, change things for Apple. Microsoft stock languished for 14 years after Bill Gates stepped down as CEO and Steve Ballmer took over, but the company has been a rocket ship since Satya Nadella succeeded Ballmer in 2014 and reoriented the company toward the cloud — and then AI. Apple could likewise surprise Wall Street with a flashy AI demo, a set of tools, or a shift in strategy.
Yes, Apple still dominates in devices. But in a moment defined by ambition, speed, and AI supremacy, that hasn’t been enough. Right now, Apple isn’t losing. It’s just not leading. And in an AI-driven market, that might be worse.
