Apple Stock Stands Out as Smartphone Shipments Grow and Buck the Industry Trend

The ongoing memory market crisis has been affecting global smartphone shipments, which fell by 4% year-over-year (YOY) in the second quarter. However, iPhone-maker Apple (AAPL) is bucking this downtrend, alongside smartphone vendor Samsung Electronics. Apple posted its strongest second-quarter results on record, reaching a 20% market share, up from 16% in the same quarter last year, in what is traditionally the company’s slowest quarterly period.

The iPhone17 series has given Apple one of its strongest iPhone refresh cycles. However, now the company faces a new challenge. It can no longer protect its customers from rising memory prices. Although iPhone prices remain untouched, Apple has raised prices for its iPads and MacBooks. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether iPhones will be affected next year if high memory prices persist.