Is Apple Stock a Buy for 2026?

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has been noticeably absent from all the artificial intelligence (AI) investment talk. While it has rolled out some AI features, it's still miles behind its competition. However, it could be executing a genius strategy of waiting to see what works, then implementing it at a much lower development cost.

We're still in the midst of seeing whether this strategy will pan out, so it's impossible to determine the outcome. However, investors can't afford to wait for a decision on what to do with Apple's stock. 2026 is here now, and investors must decide whether Apple is worth an investment in 2026 or not.

Image source: Getty Images.

Apple's growth is far slower than its peers

Apple is either the second- or third-largest company in the world by market cap, as it often swaps places with Alphabet based on daily movements of the stocks. At its $3.9 trillion market cap, it's also a fair bit behind Nvidia at $4.6 trillion. If you value profits, you could make an argument that Apple should be worth more than Nvidia (but not Alphabet).

NVDA Net Income (TTM) data by YCharts. TTM = trailing 12 months.

However, this leaves out one important factor: growth. It doesn't do a company a lot of good to make a huge profit, then top out and never grow again. Apple is in this area, as its growth has been stagnant for many years. Apple has spent the better part of the last four years delivering high-single-digit growth at best.

AAPL Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts. YoY = year over year.

This stems from the company's innovation decreasing and not launching any widely accepted products. One area where Apple could have shifted that narrative was AI, but it's clearly behind its smartphone peers in this area. As mentioned above, Apple could be playing the waiting game with AI, but that could also be a disaster if one of its major competitors launches a hard-to-integrate AI feature.

Apple is truly a company that's resting on its laurels and counting on prior success to drive future results. I don't think that's a winning combination, and I'm a bit concerned about Apple's future.

Apple's chances of outperforming the market are slim

In 2025, Apple's stock rose 8.6%. That underperformed the broader market, as measured by the S&P 500, which rose 16.4%. I'm not surprised at this result, as high-single-digit growth is all that Apple is delivering. If you look at total return, which factors in dividends and stock buybacks, Apple did a little better. Still, it's doing these activities at about the same rate as most S&P 500 components, so it didn't propel Apple into market-beating territory.

AAPL Total Return Level data by YCharts.

Until Apple can start launching innovative products to drive future growth (a real AI subscription model would be good, for starters), Apple will likely rise alongside its revenue growth -- high single digits. That's not good enough to beat the market most years, and several other companies, like Nvidia or Alphabet, are projected to deliver monster growth in 2026 that will easily outperform the market.

Despite Apple's slow growth, it's also quite expensive at 32 times forward earnings. Nvidia trades for 25 times fiscal year 2027's earnings (ending January 2027). It's also expected to deliver monster growth beyond 2026. So, not only is Nvidia growing faster, but it's also far cheaper.

I'd rather invest in companies like this that are being innovative and pushing forward to the next big thing. Apple seems to have lost its innovative edge, and until that returns, I don't think the stock is a great buy for 2026.

Keithen Drury has positions in Alphabet and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.