Apple’s $570B summer surge raises expectations for CEO John Ternus ahead of foldable iPhone reveal

Apple added $570 billion to its market capitalization over the summer of 2026, a 15% rally since June 25 that speaks to one thing above all else: investors believe the foldable iPhone is a big deal. The question now is whether John Ternus, Apple’s new CEO, can actually deliver on that belief. Ternus officially took the top job on September 1, succeeding Tim Cook after a 15-year run. Cook moves to executive chairman. Ternus’s first major product event follows just eight days later, on September 9. A new CEO, a new form factor, a very high bar Ternus is 51, joined Apple in 2001, and spent years running hardware engineering before stepping into the corner office. Analysts are projecting initial shipments somewhere between 6.5 and 10 million units, with a retail price expected to land between $2,300 and $2,500. Revenue projections tied to those shipment forecasts already exceed $14 billion. Apple’s stock, despite the summer surge, still sits roughly 7% below the all-time high it set on July 28. The AI question hanging over the whole thing Beyond the foldable itself, Ternus inherits a narrative problem that Cook never fully resolved: the perception that Apple is running behind in artifi...