Here's Why Apple (AAPL) is on the Detractors List of Parnassus Core Equity Fund

Parnassus Investments, an investment management company, released the “Parnassus Core Equity Fund” third-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The S&P 500 Index surged in the third quarter, driven by investor optimism that grew on expectations of monetary easing, strong consumer demand, and solid corporate earnings. The Fund (Investor Shares) returned 2.57% (net of fees) in the quarter, trailing the S&P 500 Index’s 8.12% return. YTD, the fund returned 9.89% compared to 14.83% for the index. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its third-quarter 2025 investor letter, Parnassus Core Equity Fund 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 -2.17%, and its shares gained 4.95% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On December 22, 2025, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock closed at $270.97 per share, with a market capitalization of $4.021 trillion.

Parnassus Core Equity Fund stated the following regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its third quarter 2025 investor letter:

"Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) posted strong performance for the quarter, so the Fund’s below-benchmark exposure made it a relative detractor. Lack of excitement around product cycles weighed on the stock earlier in the year, but investor confidence rose after Apple announced strong fiscal-third quarter results, including higher-than-expected iPhone sales."

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is in 8th position on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 166 hedge fund portfolios held Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) at the end of the third quarter, which was 156 in the previous quarter. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported revenue of $102.5 billion in the September quarter, reflecting an 8% 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 recently. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 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.