Apple became the second company to surpass a $5 trillion market valuation, with its shares reaching $342.89 on Tuesday and a market capitalization of $5.04 trillion, before falling to $340.08.

The gain occurred amid a broader decline in AI‑focused and semiconductor stocks, driven by concerns about funding for data‑center expansion and competition from Chinese chip manufacturers. The Nasdaq 100 index, which includes leading technology stocks, fell more than 10 percent since its early June peak, meeting the technical definition of a market correction, while South Korea’s benchmark index dropped to its lowest level since mid‑April, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix declining more than 10 percent.

Apple’s valuation rose as the company maintained iPhone pricing while increasing prices for MacBooks and iPads, a move that analysts said helped sustain demand. On Tuesday, Apple launched a leasing program with Klarna that offers monthly payments starting at $17.99 for an iPhone, $11.99 for an Apple Watch or iPad, and $24.99 for a Mac. The company, which uses Google’s technology to power services such as an updated Siri, has avoided the large capital expenditures associated with in‑house AI development, sparing it from the heavy infrastructure costs that have affected rivals such as Google, which announced plans to spend up to $205 billion on AI this year and reported negative free cash flow for the first time in its history. Analysts attributed the sell‑off in AI‑related stocks to renewed worries about spending levels and competitive pressures from lower‑cost Chinese firms, according to a report by The Information. Dipanjan Chatterjee, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, said Apple’s focus on customer experience rather than infrastructure investment differentiates it in the current market environment, and that the leasing program changes how consumers perceive the cost by replacing sticker shock with a predictable monthly payment.

Apple will report its third‑quarter earnings after the market close on Thursday, with analysts expecting revenue to increase by more than 15 percent compared with the same period last year.