Apple Stocks Tumble Amid Supply Chain Woes

Apple's stock price plummeted nearly 10% on Friday after the company issued a disappointing forecast. The drop would mark the worst day for Apple's stock since March 2020, erasing approximately $500 billion from its market capitalization and potentially handing the title of world's most valuable company back to Nvidia.

Tim Cook, who is stepping down as CEO in September, described the shortages as 'very significant' and stated that Apple has limited options to address them. He added that even at Apple's scale, the supply chain flexibility is being strained.

The AI-driven data center boom has led to a shortage of advanced chip-making capacity and memory chips, causing prices to rise. This has affected not only personal computers but also smartphone markets, with some analysts expecting it to shrink both this year.