Apple shares rose 5.3% to $349.51 on Wednesday, their biggest single-day gain since May 2025. Investors are favoring the iPhone maker while AI infrastructure names come under pressure from midterm election results.
Apple shares surged to an all-time high on Wednesday, extending the iPhone maker's status as a safe haven for tech investors weary of extensive artificial-intelligence spending. The stock rose 5.3% to $349.51, its biggest single-day gain since May 2025, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
However, the rally also follows a previous record of $348.91 on Oct. 29. Apple, worth $5.08 trillion at Wednesday's close, is growing its lead on Nvidia, worth $4.82 trillion.
Midterm results shift money away from AI infrastructure
Luke Rahbari, CEO of Equity Armor Investments, said Apple's surge is driven more by the broader market than by company-specific news. The Nasdaq Composite and other major indexes rose after big wins for Democrats in the midterm elections, which Wall Street reads as a sign of fewer regulatory surprises and lower Treasury yields, he told MarketWatch.
Apple's megacap peers have poured hundreds of billions of dollars into data centers and AI infrastructure. Apple instead controlled its spending, struck an AI partnership with Google Gemini and stuck to share buybacks.
Meanwhile, AI hardware names that depend on a sustained infrastructure buildout missed the gains. The iShares Semiconductor ETF fell over 3%, CoreWeave dropped 10% and Nvidia slid 3%.
Safety comes at a premium
David Bahnsen, chief investment officer of the Bahnsen Group, told MarketWatch that Apple is clawing back losses from earlier this week, after its Monday earnings report failed to impress investors. According to Bahnsen: "People are looking for some megacap flight to safety."
Protection does not come cheap, though. Bahnsen pointed out that Apple trades at a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of nearly 40 times. Jefferies analyst Jeffrey Favuzza noted last week that Apple trades at 35.8 times forward earnings estimates, while the Nasdaq's forward multiple is 20.3 times.
Source: MarketWatch
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