For a time, the stock market session on Thursday, February 12, appeared to have a strong start for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) as figures from China revealed it was the only smartphone maker to grow in the country in January.
A deluge of adverse developments from earlier this week, however, soon compounded to turn the tide and led to the American technology giant suffering its worst day since April 2025 – in approximately 10 months – as AAPL shares crashed 5% from $275.50 to $261.73.
Apple stock extended its losses into the after-hours, albeit with diminished momentum, and is down a further 0.53% in the extended session to its February 13, press time price of $260.35.
There appear to be two critical reasons why AAPL erased its previous 2026 gains and flipped to being down more than 3% year-to-date (YTD).
Apple’s AI Siri delay drives AAPL shares lower
To begin with, the company is postponing its long-awaited artificial intelligence (AI) update for the Siri personal assistant, per a recent Bloomberg report.
The development is possibly particularly adverse for Apple as the company was notably late to the AI boom, having originally been more focused on the since-abandoned electric vehicle (EV) project.
Simultaneously, it is interesting since it showcased that despite doubts about artificial intelligence that have become evident when Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) wiped some $300 billion in a day on the revelation of how exposed it is to OpenAI, AI remains a critical element in most 2026 bull cases.
Apple stock plunges 5% in a day on news of FTC scrutiny
The second development that led to AAPL stock’s worst day in about 10 months was regulatory in nature. Specifically, it was revealed on Wednesday, February 11, that Apple might have drawn the ire of the Trump administration.
Indeed, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Andrew Ferguson notified CEO Tim Cook that the agency is looking into the blue-chip technology firm’s terms of service and curation policies over allegations of censoring conservative voices and angles on Apple News.
So far, the Trump Administration and President Donald Trump himself have been rather litigious and somewhat successful with regard to various mostly media firms.
Featured image via Shutterstock
