Apple’s AI Play: Strategic Upside Meets Legal and Valuation Crosswinds
Apple’s operating-system-level push into generative AI—bringing ChatGPT-powered capabilities alongside on-device intelligence to iPhone, iPad, and Mac—arrives with markets steady and rates gradually normalizing. As of today, Apple trades at $227.16, up about 8.9% over the last 30 days, while SPY is at $642.47 (+2.8%) and QQQ at $570.32 (+2.5%), reflecting firm risk appetite across mega-cap tech and broad equities (per Yahoo Finance - Market Data). Cross-asset signals are constructive but nuanced: the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield is 4.28% versus 3.73% on the 2-year—about +55 bps 2s/10s—while the 3-month is 4.29%, leaving the 3M/10Y essentially flat at roughly -1 bp, a marked improvement from the deep inversions seen in 2023–24 (U.S. Treasury - Yield Data).