Apple (AAPL-US) Plummets 5% on $202B One-Day Drop Amid AI Deployment Delays

Apple (AAPL-US) closed Thursday, February 12, 2026, down 5%, losing about $202 billion in market value. The sell-off reflects heightened concern over lagging AI progress, with early tests of Siri upgrades hitting new issues and potentially delaying key iOS 26.4 features. The company may shift to a phased rollout, pushing some capabilities to iOS 26.5 in May or even iOS 27 in September. Analysts note Apple’s AI execution will be the primary catalyst for pricing in the coming months. While the firm is integrating Gemini AI for some functions, it remains under scrutiny for its reliance on third-party models during the transition. Additional pressure comes from rising memory and storage costs driven by strong AI data center demand, estimated to increase iPhone component costs by about 15%. However, Bernstein analyst Mark Newman argues Apple is better positioned than peers to manage the impact on earnings. Memory and storage peers Micron (MU-US), Seagate (STX-US), and Western Digital (WDC-US) have seen strong momentum amid the data center-driven shortage.