Apple shares fell 5% as concerns over memory shortages and shrinking margins at equipment peers like Cisco, compounded by rising hardware costs and AI-related disruptions, weighed on investor sentiment and raised doubts about near-term profitability.

The setback contributed to a broader tech sell-off that erased roughly $500 billion in combined market capitalization, signaling potential headwinds for sector valuations and testing investor confidence in hardware and AI-driven growth narratives.