Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares are in the spotlight Thursday after reports emerged that the company has raised prices on several Mac and iPad products, passing higher memory and storage costs on to consumers for the first time.
- Apple stock is edging lower. Where is AAPL stock headed?
The Price Increases
According to CNBC, Apple raised prices across several key products Thursday morning, with its online store briefly going down before updating with the new pricing. The reported changes include the MacBook Neo entry model rising from $599 to $699, the MacBook Air 512GB from $1,099 to $1,299, the MacBook Pro 1TB from $1,699 to $1,999, the iPad Air 128GB from $599 to $749, and the iPad Pro WiFi 256GB from $999 to $1,199.
“The consumer electronics industry is facing an unprecedented challenge,” Apple said in a statement. “The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage. We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly.” The company added it has “reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products,” leaving the door open to further increases.
The Memory Crisis
The price hikes reflect a broader supply crunch that has upended the component market. Memory and storage prices have quadrupled in the past three quarters, according to Counterpoint Research, as suppliers steer more production toward the high-bandwidth memory used in AI servers. CEO Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal last week that the situation was unavoidable. “This is a hundred-year flood,” Cook said. “I’ve never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years.”
The crisis has been a massive windfall for memory suppliers—Micron just reported a quadrupling in revenue with gross margins jumping from 39% a year ago to 84.9%, surpassing both Nvidia and Meta.
What Comes Next
Analysts expect more price increases across Apple’s lineup. Counterpoint Research’s Tarun Pathak estimates higher component costs could add roughly $200 per iPhone, with price increases of $150 to $200 expected across the lineup. IDC expects all new iPhone models to move to 12GB of RAM as Apple looks to ensure full Apple Intelligence compatibility—giving the company a way to frame higher prices around more capable hardware rather than simply passing along inflation. IDC sees Apple’s average selling price rising 12% this year, helped by a richer product mix and the expected launch of a foldable iPhone.
Apple Shares Edge Lower
AAPL Price Action: At the time of publication, Apple shares are trading 4.65% lower at $279.46, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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