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Apple CEO John Ternus unveils the $1,999 iPhone Duo foldable phone at the Apple September 2026 event
Photo: Fortune / Getty Images

Apple Stock Climbs 25% to All-Time High on $1,999 Foldable iPhone Duo

MacRumors2 min read6 sources

Why is Apple stock up today?

Apple (AAPL) stock touched a record $345 on Tuesday, up 25% year-to-date, as Morgan Stanley estimates the $1,999 iPhone Duo will add $14B to Apple's December-quarter revenue.

Key numbers

AAPL all-time intraday record$345.34+25% YTD from $271.12 end-2025
iPhone Duo base price$1,999+$100 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 base
Morgan Stanley December-quarter revenue estimate (foldable)$14Bfoldable contribution to Q4 FY2026
iPhone Duo unit forecast, H2 20267–8M unitsup to 20M across first product cycle (per [2])
Apple market cap$4.98Tnear $5T milestone
Q3 FY2026 iPhone net revenue$54.3B+22% year-over-year

What happened

Apple (AAPL) stock touched a record $345 on Tuesday, up 25% year-to-date, as Morgan Stanley estimates the $1,999 iPhone Duo will add $14B to Apple's December-quarter revenue. The iPhone Duo is Apple's first-ever foldable phone — it opens to a 7.6-inch Super Retina XDR screen, the largest ever on an iPhone, and starts at $1,999 for 256GB, roughly double the price of an iPhone 18 Pro. Preorders open October 16 at 5 a.m. Pacific time, with devices shipping October 23 to more than 70 countries. The launch is the first major product cycle under CEO John Ternus, who replaced Tim Cook on September 1, 2026.

Why it matters

Apple's 25% stock rally this year bets that millions of premium buyers will actually spend $1,999 or more on a phone that folds in half — the biggest physical redesign of the iPhone since the original launched in 2007. If the Duo finds volume, it could trigger a wave of upgrades among the roughly 57% of iPhone users still on older models, pushing Apple's valuation even further. Apple's market cap is already near $5 trillion, a level that depends on continued iPhone dominance.

Who this affects

Marketbullish
High impact
AAPL near $5T market cap lifts S&P 500 index weightings.
Companybullish
High impact
Apple's $14B December revenue bet rides on first-year foldable demand.
Competitorsbearish
Medium impact
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 faces premium market pressure from Apple.
Industrybullish
Medium impact
Foldable phone market gains mainstream credibility via Apple entry.

Apple vs Samsung, Alphabet, Microsoft

AppleAAPL:NASDAQ$4.98T+25%35x
AlphabetGOOGL:NASDAQ$4.21T+15%26x
MicrosoftMSFT:NASDAQ$3.70T-13%25x
Samsung ElectronicsSSNLF:OTC$1.33T—~4x

As of 2026-09-25

How we got here

  1. John Ternus becomes Apple CEO, succeeding Tim Cook after 15 years.

  2. Apple unveils $1,999 iPhone Duo; Ternus's first launch event.

  3. AAPL hits all-time intraday record of $345, up 25% YTD.

  4. iPhone Duo preorders open at 5 a.m. Pacific time.

  5. iPhone Duo ships to buyers in 70-plus countries worldwide.

What to watch

  • iPhone Duo preorder velocity and carrier sell-out signals on launch day2026-10-16
  • Apple Q1 FY2027 guidance vs Morgan Stanley's $14B foldable estimateQ1 2027
  • Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 pricing response and foldable market share shiftsQ4 2026

Educational content only. Not investment advice.

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