Shares of Apple (AAPL +0.33%) have been rallying in recent weeks as the company's slow-and-steady approach to artificial intelligence may be winning over investors after all. While there have been concerns that it's been moving too slowly, the stock's recent gains suggest the market isn't all that concerned. Amid the recent rally, it also briefly surpassed Nvidia in terms of market cap. Although it has given back some of its gains, at around $4.8 trillion, it's not far behind the chipmaker's $4.9 trillion valuation.
Apple's stock has hit a new all-time high along the way, and it's up 20% since the start of the year. Has it gotten too expensive, or can this "Magnificent Seven" stock still rise higher?
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Has Apple benefited from a market rotation?
In recent weeks, there's been growing bearishness around many memory and storage stocks, including Micron Technology and Sandisk, which have been generating impressive results due to supply shortages. As their valuations have risen astronomically over the past year, investors appear to be second-guessing those stocks and moving into safer options, such as Apple.
Ironically, however, Apple itself isn't all that cheap. It trades at a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 40, which is a bit rich given that the business hasn't exactly been a growth machine historically. While there have been periods of high growth, Apple's been known more for stability and safety than for generating strong growth. In its most recent fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 27, 2025, revenue rose by a modest 6%, totaling $416 billion. That's not the kind of growth investors typically expect from a stock trading at such a high P/E multiple.
The big test for Apple looms later this month, when it releases its latest quarterly numbers. The bar could be high for the business, given that it's going into earnings with its stock trading at such an elevated valuation.
NASDAQ: AAPL
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Is Apple's stock still worth buying?
Apple's business is solid, and it's easy to understand why investors may be gravitating to it in times of fear and uncertainty. But its valuation is also high, and there's no mistaking that. While it can still make for a solid investment in the long run, the risk is that when buying a stock at such high levels, returns can be limited, and it can take much longer to generate a strong return than if the stock were bought at a more modest level.
While it's a good stock, Apple may be a bit too expensive to buy right now. At the very least, I'd wait until after it reports earnings (on July 30), and reassess the tech stock then.
