Apple Stock Recovers as Weaker Jobs Data Eases Rate Pressure

Apple's stock price has stabilized after a sharp decline following its earnings report. The tech giant's revenue rose 16% year over year to $109.4 billion, while diluted EPS climbed 29% to $2.02. However, the market focused on Apple's September-quarter outlook, which guided to roughly 9% to 11% revenue growth.

Investors had been positioned for stronger expansion, and management flagged supply constraints and significantly higher memory costs as risks. Services growth also disappointed relative to elevated expectations.

The jobs data released on Friday was weaker than expected, with a decline of 23,000 nonfarm payrolls in July. This reduced immediate pressure for tighter monetary policy, which is favorable for Apple's valuation multiple.

However, inflation remains an issue, with June CPI at 3.5% year over year and core inflation at 2.6%. The Federal Reserve left the federal funds rate unchanged and explicitly said inflation remained elevated.