Tech stocks today: Apple debuts foldable iPhone Duo, AI researchers issue fresh warnings

Apple’s (AAPL) stock historically likes the annual iPhone reveal day, at least in the months after the tech giant unveils its latest pricey whiz-bang product.

Shares of the tech giant have often exhibited a modest sell-the-news reaction immediately following launch events before recovering in the subsequent 30-60 days, according to new analysis from Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan on Tuesday.

Apple’s stock has gained in the 60 days following an iPhone reveal day 17 times, dating back to the 2007 smartphone launch, Mohan’s research found.

The biggest gain was 20%, recorded 60 days after the iPhone 11 reveal in 2019.

Apple is gearing up for its Sept. 9 “Surprise and Shine” keynote at the Steve Jobs Theater. It will mark a historic turning point for the tech giant as newly appointed CEO John Ternus takes the stage for his first product launch since succeeding Tim Cook this month.

Apple’s first foldable iPhone (speculated to be called the iPhone Ultra) is expected to sport a lofty $2,000-plus starting price, Citi analysts said.

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Qualcomm (QCOM) on Tuesday said it has entered into a multi-generation custom chip deal with Amazon (AMZN). The companies say they are also developing networking capabilities and other future data center products.

Qualcomm stock climbed more than 3% on the news. Shares of Amazon were flat.

As part of the arrangement, Qualcomm has issued warrants to Amazon for 25 million shares of the company’s common stock at a price of $161.26 per share. The shares will vest in tranches based on Amazon placing purchase orders and completing those purchases with a total value warrant value of $60 billion.

“Qualcomm is pleased to work with AWS on customized silicon and connectivity solutions, bringing decades of leadership in advanced processing and power-efficient compute, to deliver breakthrough performance and enable the next generation of AI infrastructure,” CEO Cristiano Amon said in a statement.

The move is a big win for Qualcomm, which is working to diversify its business as it seeks to reduce its dependence on revenue from smartphone chip sales.

At its investor day event in June, the company laid out its plans to tackle the data center market, unveiling a line of components and servers and saying that it is nearly doubling its fiscal 2029 non-handset revenue projections to $40 billion.

“We used to be a smartphone company, now we’re an edge device company, and the next phase of Qualcomm is getting into rack scale infrastructure, and this is the proof that we’re doing that in real time,” Qualcomm CFO Akash Palkiwala told Yahoo Finance at the time.

Apple will kick off a new era on Wednesday when CEO John Ternus takes the stage for the first time for the company’s annual iPhone launch event.

Ternus, who took over from former CEO Tim Cook on Sept. 1, is widely expected to oversee the debut of Apple’s first foldable iPhone, as well as upgrades to its iPhone 18 Pro models and Apple Watch lineup.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the foldable iPhone will offer the same styling as other leading foldables, such as those from Samsung, though it will also carry a hefty price tag that could eclipse the $2,000 mark.

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8, which features a passport-like design, starts at $1,899, while its higher-end Z Fold 8 Ultra starts at $2,099.

A foldable iPhone could draw considerable interest from customers looking for something different from the standard candy-bar-style phone.

And though the price may turn off many, the foldable’s high price could make it worthwhile for the company if even a fraction of its loyal supporters buy it.

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