Will Apple’s AI Event Help Fuel Its Stock Momentum?

Apple is on the cusp of unveiling its AI plans, a make-or-break moment for the tech giant.

As Bloomberg News reported ahead of the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) Monday (June 10), Apple’s long-awaited artificial intelligence plans could be the thing that helps propel its $471 billion stock rally.

The WWDC is “the most important event for Apple in over a decade,” the report said, quoting Wedbush.

“If Apple doesn’t come out with compelling reasons to upgrade, that’s a real problem,” Greg Martin, co-founder of Rainmaker Securities, told Bloomberg. “If the event is uninspiring, I think the stock will be stagnant for a while.”

By the same token, he added, a successful event could help Apple following a recent 20%, AI-enthusiasm-driven jump in its stock price, which brought the company back to its $3 trillion-plus valuation.

Still, Bloomberg notes, Apple’s year-to-date 2.3% increase pales compared to companies with more Google, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft — all of which have more concrete AI plans — which have seen their prices rise by double digits.

That report follows one last week from the news outlet previewing Apple’s AI offerings, which is being released under the banner of “Apple Intelligence” and coming to the new versions of the iPhone, iPad and Mac operating systems.

That report — citing sources familiar with the company’s plans — says Apple is also working with OpenAI to power a ChatGPT-like chatbot.

How persuasive will all this be? Monday’s Bloomberg report includes comments from Bernstein’s Stacy Rasgon, who writes that AI functionality on the iPhone “is likely to be useful and pervasive, but not necessarily revolutionary relative to what Google (and Samsung) have offered in their AI phones.”

As PYMNTS wrote last month, Apple’s shift to AI hints at the roadblocks the company faces as the tech world is increasingly dominated by this technology.

PYMNTS’ Karen Webster recently argued that in spite of Apple’s impressive achievements, the company is saddled with fundamental strategic issues that present big questions about its stratospheric market valuation, and its  future as a leading mobile technology ecosystem.

“The implications of Apple’s AI push are far-reaching, potentially disrupting multiple industries and redefining user expectations,” PYMNTS wrote. “As more and more of Apple’s products become AI-powered, consumers will likely expect a level of intuitive, personalized interaction beyond traditional devices’ capabilities. This shift could pressure competitors to follow suit, accelerating the adoption of AI across the tech sector and beyond.”