Apple logs worst stock drop since April 2025 on Siri AI delay

Apple experienced its worst stock performance since April 2025, dropping 5% on February 12.

The decline erased its gains for 2026, with shares down nearly 4% for the year.

The AI update for Siri has been pushed back to May or later, with a phased rollout expected over several months.

Apple said it remains on track to launch the update in 2026.

Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission sent a letter to CEO Tim Cook requesting a review of Apple News’s content curation policies, after reports alleged the platform favored left-leaning outlets and suppressed conservative news.

The stock decline also comes amid broader concerns about AI investments and sector uncertainty, with analysts citing increased caution toward big tech firms.

🔗 Source: CNBC

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Apple’s stock drop ties back to Google dependence and a politicized FTC review

The Siri update missed its target date. Apple plans to use Google’s Gemini AI models for new Siri features through a multi-year deal after delays in Apple’s own overhaul 1.
Internal tests found the hybrid approach runs slowly and fails on complex requests. Engineers still struggle to blend Apple’s models with ChatGPT plus Google’s Gemini technology 2.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) letter to CEO Tim Cook followed a Media Research Center study that accused Apple News of bias. President Donald Trump amplified it on Truth Social 3.
The FTC is weighing whether Apple News curation could count as a “material omission” that misleads consumers under Section 5 of the FTC Act. The agency also said it is not the “speech police” 4.

Apple’s stumbles hint at more rival deals and higher political exposure for Big Tech

Leaning on Google’s Gemini marks a shift for a company known for going it alone 1.
The price of building competitive foundation models has climbed so high that even tech giants may need rivals to keep pace.
Apple News now sits in a political crossfire. Curation choices can pull regulators into fights over content decisions 5.
Similar disputes could hit AI assistants and content discovery tools as bias and censorship claims turn into policy pressure.