Apple’s shares have risen $28.42 over the last 12 months, or 12.56%. It has been a good but not great year for Apple investors and part of that is due to the tech giant’s failure with Apple Intelligence to deliver a seamless and useful AI experience for iPhone users. But one analyst believes that Apple has been able to shift the focus from its AI failure to its core business, the iPhone. Alex Kantrowitz, founder of Big Technology, said on CNBC that while Apple’s inability to make headway with AI is “still a problem,” Apple has “shifted the story” for now.

Apple “is an excellent phone maker” says one equity analyst

The analyst says, “People want these models because they’re more durable because they have better battery life and they are going back to their bread and butter and we’re hearing about the product itself, and people are responding. So, I think the narrative that’s been around Apple Inc not being able to do artificial intelligence over the last few years, that’s still a problem, but they’ve shifted their story. People are responding. They’re going out lining up to buy the phones both in New York, but also in China, which is really important.”

One fund has underweighted Apple in its portfolio by 50%

Not every investor loves Apple. The company has lost its title as the highest valued publicly traded outfit to NVIDIA as the upgrade cycle for iPhone users is now up to 35 months in the U.S. according to securities firm UBS. And as positive as Kantrowitz sounds on the iPhone, Macquarie Core Equity Fund noted during its Q2 2025 report that Apple underperformed the S&P 500 during the quarter and the fund has underweighted Apple in its portfolio by 50%,

The fund says about Apple, “While Apple continues to have laudable attributes and strong repurchase intent, the company is failing to grow at historical rates given the maturation of many key products.”