Here's Why Apple (AAPL) Traded Lower in Q2

Renaissance Investment Management, an investment management company, released its Q2 2025 “Large Cap Growth Strategy” investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The stock market experienced significant volatility in the second quarter, and yet, the S&P 500 posted an all-time high by the end of June. The liberation day tariff announcement set off havoc in the market, causing stock prices to drop 7% from April 2 to April 7. However, the market rebounded and gained more than 22% from the April 7 low through the end of June. The Russell 1000 Growth returned 17.8% and the S&P 500 returned 10.9% in the quarter. Large caps significantly outperformed their small-cap counterparts, and growth outperformed value. Against this backdrop, the strategy outperformed the S&P 500 Index but underperformed the Russell 1000 Growth benchmark. For more information on the fund’s best picks in 2025, please check its top five holdings.

In its second-quarter 2025 investor letter, Renaissance Large Cap Growth Strategy highlighted stocks such as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is an American multinational company that designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories. The one-month return of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was 2.05%, and its shares gained 2.96% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On September 09, 2025, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock closed at $234.35 per share, with a market capitalization of $3.478 trillion.

Renaissance Large Cap Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:

"Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) declined in the quarter. Despite reporting solid operating results, the stock came under pressure over concerns about decelerating iPhone sales, China growth headwinds, and underwhelming details for Apple’s long-awaited AI strategy. Tariffs were also an unexpected negative surprise, with Apple quantifying a sizable $900M cost impact. Moreover, the latest development in the Apple vs. Epic Games lawsuit resulted in a ruling that Apple had violated an earlier injunction, questioning Apple’s absolute control over its App Store."

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is in 8th position on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 156 hedge fund portfolios held Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) at the end of the second quarter, which was 159 in the previous quarter. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported revenue of $94 billion in the June quarter, reflecting a 10% year-over-year increase. While we acknowledge the potential of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and shared the list of stocks Jim Cramer discussed. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.