Apple Hikes MacBook, iPad Prices As Tim Cook Blames AI For Driving Up Memory Costs — ‘This Is A Hundred-Year Flood’

During an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Cook said that the price increases have become unavoidable.

• Cook said that Apple is ready to use its cash reserves to boost memory supply and help in controlling prices, but added that the company won’t build its own memory and storage facilities.
• According to a CNBC report, Apple has raised prices on MacBooks and iPads by $100 to $300.
• Apple has also left the door open to future price hikes on other products, saying it has reached a point where it needs to begin raising prices on a “number of products.”

Apple Inc. (AAPL) on Thursday announced price increases for MacBooks and iPads, with CEO Tim Cook blaming rising memory and storage costs on AI demand.

During an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Cook said that price increases have become unavoidable despite the company's best efforts to mitigate rising memory and storage costs.

“We’ve been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable,” he said.

Apple shares were down about 1% in Thursday’s pre-market trade.

Cook Says This Is A ‘Hundred-Year Flood’

Cook said that Apple is ready to use its cash reserves to boost memory supply and help in controlling prices, but added that the company won’t build its own memory and storage facilities. “This is a hundred-year flood. I’ve never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years,” he said.

Cook also said the U.S. should consider easing restrictions on American companies working with Chinese memory and storage suppliers, adding that all potential sources of supply should be considered.

New Prices Of AAPL’s MacBooks And iPads

According to a CNBC report, Apple has raised prices on MacBooks and iPads by $100 to $300.

The MacBook Neo now begins at $699, up from $599, while the MacBook Air 512GB version now costs $1,299, up from $1,099. The MacBook Pro 1TB model’s price has seen the biggest increase, rising from $1,699 to $1,999.

The iPad Air 128GB version now costs $749, up from $599. The price of the iPad Pro Wi-Fi variant has been increased to $1,199 from $999.

“The rapid expansion of AI data centers has created an extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage. We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly,” Apple said, according to the report.

Apple has also left the door open to future price hikes on other products, saying it has reached a point where it needs to begin raising prices on a “number of products.”

What Retail Traders Think Of AAPL Stock

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Apple trended in the ‘bearish’ territory at the time of writing.

AAPL stock is up 8% year-to-date and 46% over the past 12 months. The S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is up 21% over the past 12 months, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) is up 32%.

The Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF (VTI) is up 21% during this period, while the Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF (VUG) is up 17%.

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