Apple (AAPL) vs S&P 500
Apple traded at $270.12 on April 24, 2026, with market capitalization approximately $4.04 trillion. Q1 fiscal 2026 (ended December 2025) revenue reached a record $143.8 billion driven by record iPhone sales, with services revenue of $30 billion.
Also known as: Apple (AAPL) (STK_AAPL, Apple) · S&P 500 ETF (SPY) (ETF_SPY, S&P 500, SPX, SP500)
Why This Comparison Matters
Apple traded at $270.12 on April 24, 2026, with market capitalization approximately $4.04 trillion. Q1 fiscal 2026 (ended December 2025) revenue reached a record $143.8 billion driven by record iPhone sales, with services revenue of $30 billion. SPY closed at $708 the same week. AAPL represents approximately 7.6 percent of the S&P 500 (third largest after NVIDIA at 7.5 to 8 percent and just behind that). The pair captures the consumer technology cycle: AAPL outperformance signals strong iPhone replacement demand and services margin expansion; underperformance typically corresponds to iPhone cycle troughs or regulatory pressure on services.
Apple's Position in the S&P 500
Apple is approximately 7.6 percent of the S&P 500 in April 2026, making it the third-largest holding behind NVIDIA (7.5 to 8 percent) and just below at the same scale as NVDA. Through 2024, AAPL was the largest single-stock weight in the S&P 500 at approximately 7.1 percent before NVIDIA overtook it during the AI capex acceleration.
The combined NVDA + MSFT + AAPL weight of approximately 21 percent represents the most concentrated top-3 stock weight in S&P 500 history. AAPL has been a top-3 holding since 2012 (when it overtook ExxonMobil for the largest single-stock weight). The three companies combined drive approximately 60 to 70 percent of weekly S&P 500 movement, making mega-cap tech the dominant index driver.
The Services Revenue Engine
Apple Services revenue reached $30 billion in Q1 fiscal 2026 (the quarter ended December 2025), representing approximately 21 percent of total revenue and growing approximately 14 percent year-on-year. Services include the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud, AppleCare, Apple Pay, and licensing revenue (largely from Google's default search agreement). The category produces approximately 70 percent gross margins compared to roughly 35 percent for hardware.
Services growth has been Apple's most important profit driver over the past 5 years. From $50 billion annual revenue in fiscal 2020 to approximately $115 billion annualized in fiscal 2026, Services has nearly tripled while iPhone revenue has been roughly flat. The mix shift toward Services has expanded Apple's gross margin from 38 percent to 46 percent and produced disproportionate operating margin growth. The Q1 2026 acceleration to 14 percent Services growth indicates the trajectory continues despite regulatory headwinds.
The Apple Intelligence Rollout
Apple Intelligence (Apple's AI brand) launched in October 2024 with iOS 18.1, but the full feature set rolled out gradually through 2025 to 2026. Initial features (writing tools, notification summaries, basic Siri integration) were available to iPhone 15 Pro and later devices. The fully-featured AI experience requires iPhone 16 or later, driving a hardware refresh cycle.
Apple Intelligence's commercial impact has been gradual. Apple does not break out AI-specific revenue, but iPhone 16 sales were approximately 15 percent above pre-launch expectations in Q4 2024 to Q1 2026, suggesting AI-driven upgrade demand. The April 30, 2026 fiscal Q2 earnings release will include the first full quarter of iPhone 17 sales (launched September 2025), which is expected to show whether the AI-driven replacement cycle continues to accelerate. The cycle has been a key driver of AAPL versus SPY outperformance through 2025.
Conditional Forward Response (Tail Events)
How S&P 500 ETF (SPY) has historically behaved in the 5 sessions following a top-decile or bottom-decile daily move in Apple (AAPL). Computed from 1,285 aligned daily observations ending .
Following these triggers, S&P 500 ETF (SPY) rises 0.03% on average over the next 5 sessions, versus an unconditional baseline of +0.22%. 129 qualifying events; S&P 500 ETF (SPY) closed positive in 53% of them.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is AAPL's market cap?+
Apple traded at $270.12 on April 24, 2026, with market capitalization approximately $4.04 trillion. The company is the second-most-valuable in the world after NVIDIA ($5.06 trillion) and ahead of Microsoft ($3.14 trillion). AAPL represents approximately 7.6 percent of the S&P 500 (third largest after NVIDIA at 7.5 to 8 percent). The market cap reflects fiscal 2026 trajectory with Q1 fiscal 2026 record revenue of $143.8 billion, driven by record iPhone sales and services growth. The next earnings release (Q2 fiscal 2026) is scheduled for April 30, 2026.
How big is Apple Services revenue?+
Apple Services revenue reached $30 billion in Q1 fiscal 2026 (the quarter ended December 2025), representing approximately 21 percent of total revenue and growing approximately 14 percent year-on-year. Services include the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud, AppleCare, Apple Pay, and licensing revenue (largely from Google's default search agreement). The category produces approximately 70 percent gross margins compared to roughly 35 percent for hardware. From $50 billion in fiscal 2020 to $115 billion annualized in fiscal 2026, Services has nearly tripled while iPhone revenue has been roughly flat.
What is Apple Intelligence?+
Apple Intelligence is Apple's AI brand, launched October 2024 with iOS 18.1. Initial features (writing tools, notification summaries, basic Siri integration) were available to iPhone 15 Pro and later devices. The fully-featured AI experience requires iPhone 16 or later, driving a hardware refresh cycle. The September 2025 iPhone 17 launch was the first to feature full Apple Intelligence support across all models including base models, expanding the upgrade cohort beyond the historical Pro-buyer base. iPhone 16 sales were approximately 15 percent above pre-launch expectations in Q4 2024 to Q1 2026, suggesting AI-driven upgrade demand has emerged.
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Data sourced from FRED, CoinGecko, CBOE, and other providers. This page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.