Apple, once the world’s most valuable company, now down to third place behind Nvidia and rival Microsoft, has faced a challenging 2025, with its stock declining 20% year-to-date, underperforming the S&P 500’s modest 0.2% gain. This lag, driven by concerns over antitrust issues, tariffs, competition in China, and slow-to-no progress in generative AI (GenAI), has sparked discussions about strategic moves to restore investor confidence. One such move could be a stock split, a tactic Apple has employed multiple times in its history (1987, 2000, 2005, 2014, and 2020). A stock split in 2025 could signal executives’ confidence in Apple’s long-term growth, make shares more accessible to retail investors, and position the company to attract new investment in a down year.
A stock split reduces the price per share by increasing the number of shares outstanding, without altering the company’s market capitalization or an investor’s total holdings value. For example, a 4-for-1 split, like Apple’s in 2020, would divide the share price by four while quadrupling the number of shares. Apple’s stock, trading at around $200, would drop to $50 after a 4-for-1 split, making it more affordable for retail investors. This accessibility is critical, as retail investors, empowered by platforms like Robinhood, play an increasingly significant role in market dynamics. Lower share prices can broaden Apple’s shareholder base, boosting liquidity and demand.
Beyond accessibility, and even more importantly as the ability to purchase fractional shares has now become widespread, a stock split would signal Apple’s confidence in its future. The company’s 2025 struggles — particularly its lag in GenAI compared to rivals like xAI, OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic — have fueled widespread investor skepticism. Apple’s AI efforts, centered on Apple Intelligence and Siri, remain starkly uncompetitive in generative tasks, contributing to a lack of confidence in the company and fueling its stock price decline.
A split would project optimism, suggesting Apple anticipates strong growth, especially as it prepares to unveil iOS 26, macOS 26, and other operating system updates at WWDC 2025 on June 9th. These OS and other announcements (new AI partnerships) could align with a split to boost positive sentiment.
Historically, Apple’s splits have coincided with periods of growth or recovery. The 2020 4-for-1 split followed a strong rally, making shares more accessible during a retail investing boom. Post-split, Apple’s stock rose significantly, driven by optimism around 5G iPhones and services growth. A 2025 split could similarly reassure investors, countering concerns about antitrust scrutiny or China’s competitive pressures.
Critics might argue that stock splits are cosmetic, as they don’t alter fundamental value. However, the psychological impact is undeniable. Lower share prices attract retail investors, who perceive the stock as “cheaper,” driving demand. Institutional investors, too, may view a split as a proactive move. With Apple’s huge cash reserves, it has the financial flexibility to invest in AI, counter tariffs, and navigate legal challenges, reinforcing the case for a split to project confidence and stability.
Moreover, a split could help Apple regain momentum among the “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks, where it currently trail by a significant margin. By making shares more accessible and signaling confidence, Apple could attract new investors, stabilize its stock price, and set the stage for a rebound. As WWDC 2025 approaches, a stock split could be a strategic move to reassure users, investors, and Wall Street analysts and position Apple shares for a stronger 2025, ahead of significant AI releases expected in 2026.
MacDailyNews Take: Even just a 2-for-1 split would signal confidence on the part of Apple’s management.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple has executed five stock splits in its history as a publicly traded company:
June 16, 1987: 2-for-1 Split
– Pre-Split Price: ~$79 (adjusted for subsequent splits)
– Post-Split Price: ~$39.50
June 21, 2000: 2-for-1 Split
– Pre-Split Price: ~$111
– Post-Split Price: ~$55.50
February 28, 2005: 2-for-1 Split
– Pre-Split Price: ~$89
– Post-Split Price: ~$44.50
June 9, 2014: 7-for-1 Split
– Pre-Split Price: ~$645
– Post-Split Price: ~$92
August 31, 2020: 4-for-1 Split
– Pre-Split Price: ~$500
– Post-Split Price: ~$125
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wait a second; putting lipstick on a porcine enterprise doesn’t make it attractive. Look at Warren Buffet’s stock prices. Even the cheap one is at $500 and the original non-split one is somewhere in the stratosphere ($300,000-ish?) so investors aren’t fooled by a cheaper share price and the release of more shares.
agreed. stock splits are psychological, and doing it while apple is struggling could backfire.
makes more sense to do it after they get their AI house in order.
Of all the things they could do this ranks about #eleventy-eleven in importance.
810 Apple Shares bought in 2005 for 36,045 dollars after 2 to 1 split
2014 7 to 1 Split 5,860 Shares
2020 4 to 1 Split 22,680 Shares. 2020
HIGH WATER MARK AT LATE DEC 2024 $5,874,120 DOLLARS (stock splits and dividends are your friends) if you are long with good blue chip stock
After finally getting below 15B outstanding shares, Apple wants to start all over again. I find it hard to believe investors will jump onboard just because of a stock split. There are companies whose share price is far higher than Apple’s, and they have no problem attracting investors. Look at Netflix and Booking. Those stocks are flying, and they’re in no hurry to split. Apple must not understand what makes investors buy stock. It’s the ability for a stock to make gains and not just cheaper shares. I’m not knocking splits, I’m just saying there’s more to getting investors to buy stock. If Apple did a major acquisition, I’m sure they would quickly get more investors.
Apples largest acquisition in their history to date cost them $3 billion dollars, don’t look for any large acquisitions, the best Deals Apple made spending only 400 million for Next which included Steve Jobs, The other three Intrinsity, P.A. Semi, and Anobit led Two Apple Silicon which costed Apple about 700 million dollars total, Apple tends to spend wisely unlike Google, Microsoft, and Meta….
Robinhood and M1 already allow fractional stock purchase. There’s no reason to split, especially when Apple has been spending butt-loads of money on stock buyback. This makes no sense.
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Interesting take — I think a split could definitely boost retail engagement, but Apple’s real issue seems to be innovation fatigue. They need to show real AI progress, not just incremental Siri updates. I was recently looking at mobile-side AI tools on sites like
and you can see how much smaller developers are experimenting faster than the giants. Apple could learn from that agility.
Really good breakdown. Stock splits don’t change fundamentals, but the psychological boost can definitely help companies like Apple when sentiment is shaky. A lot of retail investors still look at the “per-share price” as a signal, even though fractional shares exist now.
One thing I’ve been watching is how performance bottlenecks in Apple’s ecosystem — especially around GenAI workloads — might be influencing investor sentiment more than people realize. Before making judgments, I usually check how devices or systems handle those workloads using different benchmark tools, including simple They at least give a rough sense of where hardware or software limitations are showing up, which ties in with the concerns investors have about Apple being behind on AI.
If Apple really uses WWDC to showcase meaningful progress, then pairing that with a stock split could shift momentum in a big way.