NEW YORK, Feb 13, 2026, 03:59 (EST)
- Apple shares slid roughly 5% on Thursday, marking their biggest single-day loss since April 2025.
- More delays are surfacing in Apple’s planned AI upgrade for Siri, according to reports, though Apple maintains its 2026 rollout target.
- The U.S. FTC sent a letter to CEO Tim Cook about how Apple News curates content, introducing a new layer of regulatory uncertainty for the company.
Apple shares tumbled nearly 5% on Thursday—the stock’s sharpest fall since April 2025—after new reports cast uncertainty on when its much-anticipated Siri revamp might arrive, while regulators tightened their focus on the Apple News app. That slide wiped out the year’s gains, putting the stock around 4% lower so far in 2026. (TipRanks)
Apple saw about $200 billion wiped off its market cap—a sharp drop for the world’s top-listed company and a big force in U.S. indexes. The hit came as the latest tech retreat drove investors back toward defensive plays. (Reuters)
Why it matters now: Investors have been looking for proof that Apple’s push into AI—especially through upgrades to Siri—can actually spark a new round of device buying. There’s also trouble brewing in Washington over content curation, starting to edge into Apple’s services business. It hasn’t dented iPhone sales, at least not yet. (Asianet Newsable)
Apple’s rollout of fresh Siri features with iOS 26.4, expected this March, is hitting turbulence during internal tests, according to Bloomberg sources. Some of the planned upgrades might not land until iOS 26.5 in May—and others could be pushed all the way to iOS 27 in September. (Bloomberg)
Apple told CNBC it’s still planning to roll out the overhauled Siri in 2026, sidestepping Bloomberg’s specific claims about the internal testing schedule. The company hasn’t outlined which Siri upgrades will be linked to each software update. (9to5Mac)
The Federal Trade Commission’s chairman has reached out to Apple CEO Tim Cook, citing claims that Apple News gives preferential treatment to left-leaning outlets while sidelining conservative publications. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson’s letter warned that any moves “inconsistent with Apple’s terms of service or the reasonable expectations of consumers” could run afoul of the FTC Act, a U.S. law targeting unfair or deceptive business practices. (Reuters)
Ferguson said in the letter that “these reports raise serious questions” about Apple News and whether it’s sticking to its stated terms and promises to users. Apple hasn’t issued a public response yet. (FTC letter)
Apple’s slide on Thursday dragged down the broader big tech space, with Nvidia, Amazon, and Broadcom all under pressure. Cisco’s earnings and cost outlook didn’t help the mood. “We see this as a ‘prove it’ year for AI,” Jack Herr, a primary investment analyst at GuideStone Funds, told Reuters. (Reuters)
This wave of selling didn’t seem to be just about Apple’s latest quarter—more like funds rebalancing. Invezz flagged a split: investors are picking between “AI enablers”—the chip and data-center suppliers—and “AI beneficiaries” like Apple, which can be left out when managers pull back risk. UBS also moved the U.S. information technology sector down to neutral this week, warning about “software uncertainty” and stretched capital budgets. (TradingView/Invezz)
Still, there’s no clear resolution yet. Apple has until 2026 to roll out the new Siri updates and could try to reassure investors with future software announcements. The FTC letter? It might not bring any action at all. On the other hand, the well-worn risk for Apple shows up again: missed timelines, competitors launching AI tools, and regulators moving from warnings to deeper investigations. Uncertainty hangs over the shares, shaking up the predictability Apple investors are used to.
