Apple’s Value Drops by $56.8bn Following iPhone 17 Launch

Apple Inc. has seen roughly $56.8 billion wiped off its market value since unveiling the iPhone 17 on September 9, with shares slipping about 1.6% through September 12.

The wobble reflects Wall Street’s cool reaction to incremental hardware updates and muted on-stage emphasis on artificial intelligence.

The sell-off peaked on September 10, when Apple fell more than 3%, before stabilising as investors digested early demand signals. By September 15, the stock edged higher again, aided by strong pre-order indications across major markets. 

Analysts at J.P. Morgan, BofA, and Wedbush noted lead times tracking ahead of last year, while Barron’s reported the shares rising about 1.1% on Monday as sentiment improved.

China demand provides an early bright spot

In Apple’s second-largest market, day-one iPhone 17 pre-orders appear to be outpacing the iPhone 16 on platforms such as JD.com, with third-party trackers and analysts calling out a faster uptake,especially for the 256GB entry model. Caution remains warranted until shipments land, but the initial read-through is positive.

Beyond the product cycle, Apple’s 2025 underperformance versus the S&P 500 has been tied to perceptions of a slower AI rollout.

The iPhone 17 launch itself offered scant AI detail, and news that senior AI leader Robby Walker is exiting has reinforced concerns about execution speed versus peers like Microsoft, Google, and Nvidia.

Geopolitics and supply chain re-routing

Apple continues to navigate tariff turbulence under President Trump’s trade policies, accelerating a production shift from China to India to blunt exposure. Reports have detailed record India-to-U.S. iPhone shipments this year as part of that pivot.

To anchor domestic capability, particularly around AI servers and critical components, Apple pledged over $500 billion in U.S. investment over four years (later updated to $600 billion), including a planned AI-server factory in Texas and expanded rare-earth supply commitments.