Apple plans to raise prices for most of its products due to increasing costs for development, CEO Tim Cook told the Wall Street Journal this week. Cook told The Wall Street Journal that “price increases are unavoidable” as the AI infrastructure buildout squeezes the global supply of memory and storage chips, which are crucial for both data centers and consumer devices. While Cook says Apple has thus far tried to “mitigate the huge increases” in costs for the chips, “the situation has become unsustainable.”
Tim Cook didn’t say how much prices will increase, when, or on what products. However, per WSJ, the iPhone 18 Pro would likely have to jump more than $200 relative to the 17 Pro for Apple to maintain its margins. With the Fall Apple event just months away, prices could be on the rise, leading up to their highest ever.
The costs of memory chips have risen between 80% and 200%, and are mostly driven by the explosive demand for data centers. Apple is now finding it hard to maintain its price range, and could see a spike in rates in the upcoming September launches. The effects of the price rise are already echoing in the market circles, which is inadvertently affecting Apple stock.
On the other hand, Apple’s leaning into the chip market has helped it stay afloat. While AAPL was late to the chip and AI race, it is now capitalizing on the industry’s growth. Just this week, the iPhone maker has reportedly agreed to a deal with Intel (INTC) where Intel would manufacture chips for the iPhone maker.
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Apple (AAPL) stock has stagnated around the $297 price level in the last 30 days, slowing down its 9% climb in 2026 toward the end of May. Some firms on Wall Street have also changed their tone on AAPL stock, with firms changing their ratings for AAPL to hold. Phillip Securities analyst Helena Wang wrote in a note to clients that Apple stock could slump further, maintaining a ‘hold’ rating. Fortunately, there are still some bulls. Wedbush and Bank of America reiterated buy ratings Thursday, suggesting AAPL still has potential despite the potential price hikes.
