Ryan Vlastelica

(Bloomberg) — For years, investors have talked of Apple Inc. as a potential port of safety in times of market turmoil. That hasn’t been borne out this time around.

The iPhone maker has tumbled in recent sessions, extending its year-to-date underperformance amid a growing number of risks that are overshadowing its traditional high-quality characteristics.

While Apple offers steady earnings growth and sits on a mountain of cash, headwinds form a daunting list for would-be bulls: it is heavily exposed to tariff uncertainty and China, its artificial intelligence offerings have repeatedly fizzled, and its lucrative partnership with Google parent Alphabet Inc. is potentially at risk. It trades at a premium to megacap tech peers despite slower revenue growth, suggesting that the haven case is harder to make for Apple and other big-tech names.

“People like to park in Apple, but right now the stock is expensive, and not only is growth slow, but the catalysts for growth are absent,” said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder. “It doesn’t seem like AI is doing much for it, the environment is very uncertain, and it is very at risk with tariffs and China. While it isn’t as controversial as Tesla, it seems like it is just treading water, and it has been a while since we’ve seen anything truly innovative from it.”

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