Apple reports earnings this week after briefly overtaking Nvidia as the world's biggest stock. Here's what to watch for AAPL as it tries to extend its 20% year-to-date gain.
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Amid a week dominated by AI-spending anxiety across the rest of Big Tech, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) stands out for a different reason: it's simply been on one of the best runs in the market this year. Apple reports earnings this week, arriving with momentum that few of its megacap peers can currently match.
A standout year, capped by a record high
Apple has had a solid run so far in 2026, briefly surpassing Nvidia earlier this month as the biggest stock in the world by market capitalization. That milestone came the same day Apple touched a new all-time high. Through July 23, Apple shares carried a year-to-date gain of roughly 20.1%, comfortably outpacing the S&P 500's 10.3% gain over the same stretch.
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A useful counterweight to this week's AI jitters
Apple's report lands in sharp contrast to the mood surrounding its megacap peers. Alphabet's strong headline results were overshadowed by capex concerns and a negative free cash flow disclosure, dragging the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF down more than 5% week-to-date even as semiconductor stocks rallied. Apple's business model — anchored in consumer hardware and services rather than heavy AI infrastructure capex — gives it a somewhat different earnings narrative, one investors may view as a relative safe harbor within Big Tech this quarter.
What to watch in the report
With the stock trading near record highs, expectations are elevated. Investors will be watching iPhone sales trends, growth in Apple's high-margin services segment, and any updates on the company's AI strategy relative to peers who have leaned much more heavily into infrastructure spending. Given how much of Apple's 2026 rally has already been priced in, the bar for a positive surprise is notably higher than it was earlier in the year.
Key numbers to watch
- iPhone revenue trends, still Apple's single largest product category
- Services revenue growth, a higher-margin business increasingly central to the bull case
- Any AI-related capex commentary, for comparison against the much larger spending plans at Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon
- Forward guidance, given how much optimism is already reflected in the stock near its highs
Bottom line
Apple heads into earnings this week from a position of relative strength, having already outperformed most of its megacap peers in 2026. Whether that momentum continues will depend on whether the company can justify its rich valuation with results strong enough to match a market already pricing in a lot of good news.
This post is based on reporting from Kiplinger as of July 24-25, 2026. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
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