Apple Climbs Into Its iPhone 18 Pre-Order Weekend, the First Under CEO John Ternus

Apple shares pushed higher again on Friday, carrying the stock toward the top of its 52-week range on the last trading day before customers can start ordering the new iPhone. The stock changed hands at $333.85 in early-afternoon trading, up 2.2% from Thursday’s close of $326.57. Thursday was stronger still: a 3.56% gain. Two green days in a row have lined up right as Apple opens the commercial phase of its biggest annual event.

Pre-orders Saturday, phones on the 18th

Apple unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max at a product event on September 9. Pre-orders open Saturday, September 12, at 8 a.m. Eastern, and the phones reach buyers on Friday, September 18, according to Apple’s announcement and to coverage from MacRumors and AppleInsider. The first wave of countries, the United States among them, gets the devices on the 18th, with roughly 20 additional markets following on September 25. The Saturday start breaks the company’s usual habit of taking orders the Friday after an unveiling. The iPhone still drives the business. So the pre-order window is the first real read on how the new lineup is selling, and it arrives before Apple reports a single dollar of the quarter’s revenue.

The first launch of the Ternus era

This is also the first iPhone cycle run by a new chief executive. John Ternus took over as CEO on September 1, with Tim Cook moving to executive chairman of the board, a handoff Apple announced back in April. Ternus is a 25-year Apple veteran who joined the product design team in 2001 and later ran hardware engineering, the group responsible for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Vision Pro. Few incoming chief executives know a company’s flagship product as intimately. His first months in the corner office now coincide with the launch of that very product. The timing is not subtle.

Back near a record high

The rally leaves Apple just below record territory. At $333.85, the stock sits 3% below its 52-week high of $344.57. It is up 17.5% over the past three months, having bottomed at $275.15 in late June before the summer recovery took hold. The past month tells a flatter story: the shares closed at $333.43 on July 30, slid through August, and have now round-tripped back. The dip did not last. Thursday’s advance came on volume about 1.7 times the 20-day average, a sign the buying was heavier than a normal session. Apple’s market value stands at $4.88 trillion, the largest of any U.S. company, which means moves of this size shift the broader indexes on their own.

Saturday’s orders, then September 18

Saturday is the first tell. When pre-orders open, delivery estimates either begin to stretch or they hold, and the gap between the two is an early signal of demand. The phones then ship on September 18, the point at which launch-week interest becomes visible in stores. Beyond the hardware, the season doubles as an early test of how Apple presents itself under new leadership. The company has not detailed pre-order volumes in advance, and it rarely does. The first public read will be the delivery estimates that appear on its store once ordering opens Saturday morning.

This is a general-market summary for information only — not investment advice, and not a recommendation regarding any security.