Apple Is Mostly Sitting Out the AI Spending Arms Race. With AI Stocks Selling Off, That Suddenly Looks Smart.

Apple's restrained approach to AI infrastructure spending ($12.7B capex vs. peers' $400B+) is being recast as prudent discipline as AI stocks sell off amid concerns about massive debt loads and cash burn. While Apple partners with Alphabet for its Siri AI overhaul, the company maintains strong cash generation and shareholder returns, though risks remain around user adoption and potential dependence on a rival's technology.