Apple Falls Before Ternus's First $54 Billion iPhone Test

Apple AAPL, the consumer-technology and services giant, headed toward its first major product event under CEO John Ternus as shares fell approximately 1.2% to $316.31 Tuesday. Wednesday's spotlight is expected to land on a foldable iPhone, premium handset upgrades and Apple's rebuilt Siri assistant. Apple's latest financial statements underline what is at stake. Quarterly iPhone revenue surged 22% to $54.25 billion, representing nearly half of total sales, while Services contributed $30.74 billion and companywide gross margin hit 50.1%. The valuation leaves little room for a forgettable launch: Apple's $316.31 share price stands 11.04% above its $284.87 GF Value estimate. Reuters cited one public forecast projecting more than $45 billion of foldable-iPhone revenue by the end of 2027, equal to roughly 83% of Apple's latest quarterly iPhone sales, though the estimate covers multiple quarters. A foldable device could reignite the upgrade cycle, but Ternus's bigger assignment is showing that Siri and on-device AI can make Apple's enormous installed base more valuablenot simply more expensive.