The iPhone maker has just reached a market value of $4 trillion — a historic achievement.
But 6 months ago, 4 key factors pointed to a collapse.
One of the biggest silent turnarounds of the year!
In April, Apple lost its position as the world's most valuable company.
Shares plummeted 20% after Trump announced tariffs on Chinese products.
Since a large portion of iPhones were still assembled in China, the market quickly priced in the worst-case scenario.
But Apple had already prepared a contingency plan.
Tim Cook had been redirecting part of the final assembly to India—and managed to supply the US with iPhones outside the scope of the tariffs.
It was a faster-than-expected response that prevented greater damage.
Trump didn't like the maneuver.
"Let India take care of itself," he declared publicly.
But Cook was shrewd and responded politically:
He went to the White House, announced $600 billion in investments in the US, and presented Trump with a gold-plated plaque.
The plan had an immediate effect.
Trump made headlines, Cook got an exemption.
Apple escaped tariffs on electronics—and even saw general tariffs against China cut in half.
The market understood the message: the company retained direct access to the White House.
Stocks rose again.
But the risk wasn't just geopolitical.
Apple's contract with Google—which ensures that the search engine remains the default in Safari—was under scrutiny by the US government for alleged antitrust violations.
If it were broken, annual revenue would fall by US$20 billion!
Given the importance of the matter, Apple's defense was led by Eddy Cue, vice president of services.
He is the executive behind the App Store, iCloud, Apple Pay, and the entire ecosystem of services.
Cue personally went to court to argue that the market was already changing with AI—and that breaking the agreement now would be a mistake.
The strategy also worked.
The companies' influence led to the best possible outcome.
The judge upheld the contract with Google.
And Apple preserved one of its biggest revenue streams without having to change anything.
Not only did it preserve, but it also scaled.
A few months later, the iPhone 17 and the new Air model were launched without bringing any major innovations, but with specific upgrades that worked with the loyal user base.
With this, the company projected 12% growth for the quarter—enough to rekindle enthusiasm on Wall Street.
But what truly sustained Apple after the crisis was its services.
Combining the App Store, iCloud, advertising, and the deal with Google, the services division generated over $100 billion in revenue that year—with operating margins above 70%!
Today, this part of the business alone is worth more than many publicly traded big tech companies.
An increasingly safe and profitable diversification.
Several changes that, in just a few months, rewrote Apple's history.
Tim Cook was never seen as a visionary like Steve Jobs.
He was always called a "technical CEO," "without product vision," "logistics man."
But it was he who faced tariffs, courts, regulatory changes, and pressure for AI—and still led Apple to $4 trillion (+57% since April).
With Cook, Apple became an empire of predictability even in difficult times.
But he is already 64 years old. And succession is being discussed behind the scenes.
The question is not only who will be the next CEO — but whether Apple will continue in "flawless execution" mode or return to taking creative risks.