Apple unveils folding iPhone Duo starting at $1,999

Market Overview: Stocks Slide as Oil and Bond Yields Rise

Stocks fell on Wednesday, putting the S&P 500 on track for its third consecutive down session. The market continues to face the same headwinds that have capped gains for weeks: rising oil prices and climbing bond yields.

Following the latest escalation of fighting between the U.S. and Iran:

• Brent crude (international benchmark) crossed above $101 per barrel for the first time since July
• WTI crude (U.S. standard) briefly crossed $96 and traded at its highest level since early June

Impact on Consumer Stocks

Rising energy prices create a difficult environment for consumer and retail stocks. As prices rise at the pump, consumers have less disposable income for discretionary purchases.

The State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) has dropped 8.5% in a near-straight line from its Aug. 4 high. Notably, that peak occurred just after President Donald Trump called off a planned strike on Iran in hopes of reaching a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Key takeaway: The decline in consumer stocks has coincided with escalating tensions in the Middle East, suggesting another de-escalation may be needed for the sector to recover.

"Until that happens, we recognize there could be more pain ahead, but we are hesitant to sell a high-quality retailer, such as TJX Companies, simply because of what could prove to be a temporary spike in oil."

Full portfolio updates will be provided during the September Monthly Meeting livestream, starting at noon ET on Thursday.

Apple Unveils iPhone Duo — Its First Foldable

Apple officially entered the foldable smartphone market on Wednesday, unveiling the iPhone Duo at its annual fall product launch event.

iPhone Duo: Key Details

| Feature | Detail | |---|---| | Starting price | $1,999 (in line with competitors, lower than Wall Street expected) | | Outer display (folded) | 5.4 inches, passport-shaped | | Inner display (unfolded) | 7.6 inches, seamless; can also act as two separate screens | | Colors | Star White, Night Sky | | Pre-orders begin | Oct. 16 | | Availability | Oct. 23 |

iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max

Apple also unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, described as more evolutionary than revolutionary. Upgrades include:

• Better camera
• Enhanced editing functionality
• New A20 chipset
• Other expected improvements

Pricing increase: Starting prices rise by $100 to $1,199 and $1,299, respectively. The increase was expected due to the memory crunch, which had already boosted prices on Macs and iPads.

Pre-orders: Begin Saturday, with availability on Sept. 18.

Apple's AI Vision

Opening the presentation, Apple's new CEO John Ternus described the iPhone as an "intelligent personal hub" — the perfect device for personal AI, capable of local data processing and always with the user.

With more than 300,000 apps already accessible by the new AI-powered Siri, Apple is well-positioned to compete for the top spot in consumer AI — especially with SpaceX's Grok Bot and Meta's Muse agent now in the market.

Apple shares were flat in late afternoon trading.

Kimberly-Clark Shares Slide on Weak Q3 Outlook

Shares of Kimberly-Clark (Huggies, Scott, Kleenex) moved lower after the company provided a disappointing third-quarter update at the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference.

Revised Guidance

| Metric | New Guidance | Consensus Expectation | |---|---|---| | Q3 sales growth | Low-single-digit decline YoY | +0.6% growth | | Q3 EPS growth | Low-teens decline YoY | -8% decline |

Three Factors Behind the Miss

1. Postponed innovation launch due to production issues
2. Inventory de-loading by distributors in the "professional" channel (bulk sales to offices, manufacturing plants, and other businesses) — a segment that had previously grown volumes for seven consecutive quarters
3. Combined impact from the above two headwinds: an estimated 2% hit to growth in North America

The third negative factor was not specified in the update.