Apple Stock Slips After Earnings: Can $280 Hold the Line for a New All-Time High?

Apple (AAPL) stock opened sharply lower on Friday at $304, down more than 9%. Weak fiscal fourth-quarter guidance overshadowed a record June quarter that beat estimates on revenue and earnings.

Shares closed Thursday at $333.43, down 1.41%, days after Apple briefly touched a $5 trillion valuation.

Record Quarter Meets Cautious Guidance

Apple reported June-quarter revenue of $109.42 billion, above the $108.65 billion consensus. Earnings per share reached $2.02, well above the $1.89 estimate. The full results showed revenue up 16% year over year, a June-quarter record.

iPhone revenue climbed 22% to $54.25 billion, while Mac sales jumped 29% to $10.35 billion. However, Services revenue of $30.74 billion and Greater China sales of $18.82 billion both missed forecasts.

The outlook did the real damage. CFO Kevan Parekh guided September-quarter revenue growth of 9%–11%, below the roughly 12% analysts expected. He cited supply constraints, currency headwinds, and a memory cost squeeze driven by AI demand for DRAM and NAND chips.

The report also marked Tim Cook’s final earnings call as CEO. John Ternus, who takes over on September 1, told analysts Apple sees a major opportunity in AI.

Expanding Volume and RSI at 62 Keep Buyers Interested

Before the guidance shock, the daily chart looked firmly bullish. AAPL corrected only modestly from its $344.57 all-time high, holding a fresh support zone around $333. That area capped price in mid-July before the breakout, a classic resistance-turned-support flip.

Momentum backs that read. The daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) sits near 62, just below firmly bullish territory. Meanwhile, trading volume has expanded in recent sessions, a sign of growing participation. That combination fueled the milestone run to a $5 trillion valuation earlier this week.

If the weakness holds, $280 becomes the immediate battleground. The level rejected price in February and caught the sharp early-July dip.

AAPL Price Prediction Hinges on the $315 Zone

Earnings gap-downs sometimes retrace once the initial selling fades. If buyers reclaim $315 in the coming sessions, the structure of higher highs and higher lows stays intact. A recovery of the $333 zone would then put the $344.57 record back in play, roughly 12% above premarket levels.

Failure to reclaim $315 keeps sellers in control and exposes $280. That would mark the deepest correction since the early-July pullback.

Two catalysts could decide the outcome. Long-term memory supply agreements would ease the margin fears behind the weak guidance. Additionally, the redesigned Siri launch this fall could revive the AI optimism that a July forecast identified as a key driver of the rally.

The next few sessions come down to one question. Either buyers set up an attempt at $315, or the post-earnings gap grows into a broader trend reversal.