Apple hits record highs on the stock market: why the shares are rising and where Ternus comes in

On 13 October 2026 Apple shares touched $348.15 intraday, a new all-time high, before closing at $341.27 (Google Finance). A 2% pullback from the peak, but one that does not change the picture: year to date the stock is up 25.9%, market capitalisation stands at around $4,980 billion and the 52-week low is $243.42.

At this point, it is natural to ask what has driven Apple this far, and how much of the credit belongs to John Ternus, who has led the company since 1 September. The only answer we can offer comes in two parts. The figures underpinning the share price are almost entirely those of the Cook era. Ternus’s contribution, for now, is to have managed the handover without disruption and to have presented the first product line under his leadership.

As our overview of financial transactions in 2026 shows, capital this year has been concentrated in a few large deals. Here is how the same happened to Apple’s stock, and what can be learnt from it.

The stock in numbers, at a glance

Why Apple is at record highs: three reasons

1. The results: double-digit growth and earnings above expectations

In the third fiscal quarter of 2026, which ended on 27 June, Apple reported revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16% year on year, and diluted earnings per share of $2.02, up 29% (Apple). Google Finance reports earnings per share 6.7% above expectations and revenue 0.4% above.

Within the figure, however, there is a detail that needs careful reading. Apple specifies that the 50.1% gross margin includes around two percentage points of tariff refunds and that earnings per share include a $0.11 benefit from the same source. Stripping out that item, earnings per share would be around $1.91, up roughly 22%: less than the 29% announced, but still a strong result.

The growth is broad-based: iPhone reached 54.3 billion in revenue (+22%), Mac 10.4 billion (+29%) and Services 30.7 billion (+12%), each a record for the June quarter (Nasdaq, earnings call summary). The only decline is iPad, at 6.2 billion (-6%).

2. The installed base and Services

The second driver is the installed base. Apple had already passed 2.5 billion active devices in January 2026, and in the June quarter it reported a record number of active devices across all major categories and regions (Apple).

The market loves predictable revenue. Now that Services account for 28% and carry a gross margin of 75.6%, against 40.1% for products (MacStories), every extra dollar of Services weighs far more on earnings than an extra dollar of iPhone.

Apple also returns a great deal of cash to shareholders: in the quarter it bought back $25.8 billion of shares (Nasdaq), a direct boost to earnings per share. This is the most visible part of what our analysis of capital policy calls the choice of where to direct cash: reinvest, acquire, return.

3. The product cycle and a balance sheet the market now favours

The third factor is the autumn. On 9 September Apple unveiled iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo (Qz). According to market reports, Duo prices start at $1,999 and pre-orders opened in mid-October (TheStreet). A new product in a category where Apple had no presence is one of the few things that can shift growth expectations.

Then there is the market context. On 1 September, as the Nasdaq fell on rising government bond yields, Apple rose by around 3%: the stocks most exposed to AI infrastructure investment, partly debt-financed, suffered most, while Apple, with strong cash flows and more restrained spending, was seen as a safer haven (24/7 Wall St.).
Admittedly, this is commentators’ interpretation, not data. Yet it explains why the caution on AI that had been criticised for months became, on that day, an advantage.

The share price does not rise in a straight line

The rally has had difficult moments. After the 30 July quarterly results the shares opened 8.6% lower, the worst start since August 2024, wiping out around $430 billion in market capitalisation, having briefly come close to $5,000 billion (9to5Mac). The reasons: the warning of sharply increasing supply constraints on iPhone, iPad and Mac, and slower growth in Services.

The same call also surfaced the issues the market is still watching:

• Slowing growth. For the September quarter Apple guided to revenue growth of 9-11%, against the 16% just reported (Nasdaq, summary of the call).
• Margins. The forecast gross margin is 47-48%, with around one point coming from tariff refunds: stripping these out, it is around 46-47%, below the 48% implied for the June quarter without refunds.
• Memory costs. Tim Cook described an exceptional rise in memory chip costs and spoke of product price increases decided on reluctantly (Nasdaq, summary of the call).
• iPhone 18 Pro demand. A Nikkei Asia report, picked up by Rolling Out, points to demand for the Pro models that was not strong from the outset and to requests for suppliers to cut some production. Other sources instead indicate demand holding up in the first week (TheStreet). The picture is mixed.
• Services. UBS, with a neutral rating and a $296 target, cites App Store revenue growth slowing to 5% year on year in September (Investing.com). Other analysts cited have targets between $370 and $380: the spread shows how divided the market is.

What Ternus has done so far (and what he hasn’t)

John Ternus has been CEO since 1 September 2026. Tim Cook has moved to the role of Executive Chairman (SEC, Form 8-K). If you separate what is already in the accounts from what depends on him, the picture is fairly clear.

Ternus’s contribution to date is therefore of three kinds.

Continuity. The transition was prepared and announced months in advance, with Cook on the board and Ternus leading operations (Apple). The market responded without turbulence: on 1 September the shares rose.

The first product test. The 9 September event was the first under his leadership. Between the day before and the day itself, the stock rose from around 316 to over 330 dollars (The Eastern Herald): a rise the market linked to iPhone 18 pricing more than to him personally, but one that fell in his first week. Ternus comes from hardware engineering: the products unveiled are the kind of bet he was chosen to make (Apple).

The targets. The board has set him a salary of $3 million and a target equity award of $55 million for fiscal year 2027. 75% of the award is tied to the stock’s total shareholder return relative to S&P 500 companies (SEC). The message is clear: his tenure will be judged on his ability to create shareholder value over time, not on the number of announcements.

Cook’s optionality and the choice of Ternus

Cook avoided committing Apple to the same infrastructure race on artificial intelligence as its competitors (Reuters). That caution has left Apple with capital, margins and freedom of choice, and for now the market is rewarding it. It does, however, have an expiry date: at 39 times earnings, the stock is no longer pricing in caution, but the arrival of a convincing AI product.

For anyone running a company, this is the most instructive part of CEO succession. The predecessor can leave behind solid accounts and room for manoeuvre; the choice of how to use them passes to the successor, and only that choice allows the successor to be judged. A question of governance: the board’s incentive mechanisms say a great deal about what it expects from the new CEO.