Apple Inc. (AAPL), headquartered in Cupertino, California, remains a leading force in the global technology sector. The company designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories. With a market cap of $3 trillion, Apple also offers payment, digital content, cloud and advertising services primarily in consumer, small & mid-sized business, education, enterprise and government markets worldwide. 

Companies worth $200 billion or more are generally described as “mega-cap stocks,” and AAPL definitely fits that description, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, reflecting its substantial size, influence, and dominance in the consumer electronics industry. Apple revolutionized personal technology leading the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro, providing seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empowering people with breakthrough services. 

Despite its notable strength, AAPL slipped 22.9% from its 52-week high of $260.10, achieved on Dec. 26, 2024. Over the past three months, AAPL stock has declined 17.1%, underperforming the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 1.1% dip during the same time frame.

In the longer term, shares of AAPL plunged 20% on a YTD basis but rose 5.5% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming SPX’s YTD marginal gains and 11% returns over the last year.

To confirm the bearish trend, AAPL has been trading below its 50-day moving average since late February. The stock is trading below its 200-day moving average since early March, with slight fluctuations.

AAPL has underperformed due to the challenge of moving its supply chain and logistics network from India to the U.S. This process may take longer than expected, and keeping production in India could be costly in the long run. With potential 25% tariffs on phones manufactured outside the U.S., Apple is facing challenges with sluggish iPhone demand in China. The company is also dealing with competition from Huawei and Xiaomi Corporation (XIACY), as well as higher expected costs of $900 million due to tariffs.

On May 1, AAPL reported its Q2 results, and its shares closed down by 6.9% in the following two trading sessions. Its EPS of $1.65 topped Wall Street expectations of $1.61. The company’s revenue was $95.4 billion, topping Wall Street forecasts of $94.3 billion.

In the competitive arena of consumer electronics, Sony Group Corporation (SONY) has taken the lead over Apple, showing resilience with a 24.3% uptick on a YTD basis and a solid 64.6% gain over the past 52 weeks.

Wall Street analysts are moderately bullish on AAPL’s prospects. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from the 37 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $231.02 suggests a potential upside of 15.3% from current price levels.