Both S&P 500 and NASDAQ rose on Wednesday after Alphabet (GOOGL) was spared by the federal court decision in an antitrust case, lifting regulatory risk on the stock. The tech giant can then keep its Chrome browser. The decision also allowed Alphabet to continue paying Apple (AAPL) to use Google Search as the default in Safari and Siri.
Overall, S&P 500 was up 0.5% to 6,448, while NASDAQ jumped 1.0% to 21,498.
Chart of the Day
Here is the one-year chart of Apple (AAPL) as of August 24, 2025, when the stock was at $228.
Apple stock rose 4% in today’s trading after a court ruled Alphabet can continue to pay Apple for the ability to put its Google search engine in iPhones. As such, Apple will continue to get royalty fees for doing so.
Prior to this news, Apple stock was already looking good as profit and sales growth got back into the double-digits last quarter. The company managed to deliver 12% profit growth on 10% revenue growth as it reported strong growth driven by iPhones (+13% sales growth), Macs (+15%), and Services (+13%).
Management stated they saw an acceleration of growth around the world in the vast majority of markets it tracks, including Greater China and many emerging markets.
David Sharek, Founder of School of Hard Stocks, is pleasantly surprised by Apple’s performance. Analysts predicted profits would grow 1% last quarter, and the company delivered 12%. The stock might have the momentum it needs to make a serious move higher.
AAPL is on the radar for our Conservative Growth Portfolio.
