$AAPL ¥807.3 billion evaporated overnight! Apple stock plunges as new CEO faces production bottleneck in first major test

On September 4 U.S. Eastern Time, tech giant Apple experienced volatility on its first trading day after its new management took office.
Apple (AAPL) shares weakened throughout the day, with the intraday decline at one point exceeding 3%. At the close, Apple stood at $319.97, down 2.51% for the day, with its total market capitalization falling back to $4.67 trillion.
Compared with the $4.79 trillion market capitalization on the previous trading day, Apple's market cap evaporated by $120.3 billion in a single day, equivalent to approximately ¥807.3 billion, drawing widespread attention across global capital markets.
Based on the day's intraday trend, Apple came under pressure as soon as the market opened. After opening at $328.30, the share price fluctuated lower, hitting an intraday low of $317.86. Full-day trading volume exceeded $12.7 billion, with activity remaining high. Dragged down by Apple, the Nasdaq technology sector also experienced a pullback, while market sentiment grew more cautious.
The sharp stock-price volatility came at a critical juncture as Apple's management completed its transition from the old leadership to the new.
Recently, John Ternus officially succeeded Cook as Apple's new CEO, ushering in a new phase of Apple's development. A veteran employee with more than 20 years of hardware engineering experience, Ternus led the development of Apple's self-designed M-series chips. The market has high hopes that the new CEO will lead Apple into new businesses and unlock further growth, while the September 9 fall product launch will be Ternus's first public major test after taking office. Alleged leaked spy photos of an engineering prototype; the final product is subject to Apple's official announcement
Supply-chain news has become the core trigger for this round of stock-price correction. The production progress of Apple's highly anticipated first foldable-screen iPhone has fallen short of market expectations. According to information disclosed by renowned technology journalist Mark Gurman, as of the end of August, initial daily output of the foldable model was only several hundred units. Out of quality-control concerns, Apple has set extremely stringent factory standards for the hinge and screen flatness. Multiple verification procedures have extended the production cycle, and the pace of capacity ramp-up has been far below investors' previous expectations.
According to supply-chain plans, Apple originally intended to rapidly increase production after the new product launched, targeting annual shipments in the tens of millions. Now that initial production capacity is constrained, the market has begun to worry that supplies of the foldable phone will be tight at launch, making it difficult to generate large-scale sales momentum or carry Apple's growth in its next phase.
In addition to the foldable phone, several new products, including an OLED iPad mini and a touchscreen MacBook, will be launched in rapid succession in the near term. Apple plans to begin the largest new-product launch cycle in its history, and whether multiple product lines can be successfully delivered is also weighing on investors' minds. Viewed over a longer time frame, Apple is currently facing multiple overlapping challenges. On the one hand, the rollout of artificial-intelligence features has been slow, and the industry generally believes Apple has fallen behind its peers in AI. On the other hand, the global smartphone replacement cycle has lengthened, leaving limited room for traditional iPhone sales growth, while the services business is gradually slowing. The market urgently needs a phenomenon-level new product to turn things around, and the foldable phone has been tasked with breaking the impasse. The production bottleneck for the foldable device has undoubtedly intensified anxiety in the capital markets.
Several brokerage firms said that short-term stock-price volatility represents an early reaction by funds to uncertainty surrounding the new products and does not mean Apple's fundamentals have materially deteriorated. Apple has vast cash reserves, a mature global supply chain, and a large user base, leaving its core foundation solid. At the upcoming fall launch, the foldable phone's final pricing, product features, and supply timetable will become key variables determining Apple's future direction.
Capital markets are waiting for Ternus to submit his first report card since taking office. For this new leader with an engineering background, how to balance product quality with mass-production pace and reactivate Apple's growth curve through new products has become the most important task at present. Whether Apple's foldable era can begin as scheduled is being closely watched by the entire technology industry.$AAPL