Apple stock tumbled on Thursday after the company raised prices on its MacBooks and iPads, fueling concerns that its anticipated recovery could be losing momentum.
The stock fell 5.2% to $277.89, on track for its biggest one-day percentage decline since April 4, 2025, according to Dow Jones Market Data. It was also the weakest performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The price hikes, all $100 or more, are detailed on Apple’s website. The MacBook Air now starts at $1,299, up $200, while the higher-end MacBook Pro has risen $300 to $1,999.
Angela Palumbo for Barron’s:
Even the MacBook Neo, which was introduced this year as Apple’s lowest priced laptop ever, has a new price tag of $699, a $100 increase. The prices for the iPad Pro and iPad Air also rose by $200 and $150—to $1,199 and $749, respectively.
One analyst who likes the stock had pointed out the risk of the new prices.
“While the price increases should help protect gross margins, intra-cycle hikes are very unusual for Apple and raise the risk of some demand friction across Macs and iPads,” wrote Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani, who rates the stock Outperform and has a $365 price target.
Apple held off on raising prices for as long as possible. The company had been using its strong relationship with suppliers to negotiate costs and keep prices stable. That strategy had been successful—second-quarter iPhone and Mac sales came in better than analyst estimates as demand remained steady. Data this spring showed that demand from China got a boost after competitors raised their prices.
But CEO Tim Cook said last week that “unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable.”
Notably, Apple didn’t increase iPhone prices. Daryanani believes this will help protect iPhone demand for now and keep overall sales intact, but it’s also likely that the next generation of iPhones announced in September will be more expensive.
MacDailyNews Take: Again, because its customers are, on average, considerable more affluent, Apple won’t merely survive RAMageddon — it will emerge stronger than ever, widening its lead as rivals get hammered by the same memory crisis.
As we wrote earlier today on X:
The current $AAPL overreaction has us salivating! Can we have sub-$270, pretty please?#BackingUpTheTruck
— MacDailyNews (@MacDailyNews) June 25, 2026
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