Investors in the most valuable companies on Earth might think that their holdings face minimal threats. While this is generally the correct line of thinking, there are always things to worry about. Even the “Magnificent Seven” group, which contains the most powerful businesses the world has ever seen, presents unique uncertainties that can’t be ignored.
For instance, there’s one trillion-dollar stock that has soared 931% in the past decade (as of April 22), which is dealing with a perpetual long-term risk factor that could seriously undermine its operations and competitive position. Should investors be concerned?
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I think it’s reasonable to adopt a more upbeat stance.
Since the launch of its first iteration in 2007, the iPhone has been instrumental in Apple‘s (NASDAQ: AAPL) jaw-dropping success. Almost two decades later, this product continues to dominate. Its revenue grew 23.4% year over year in Q1 2026 (ended Dec. 27, 2025) to $85.3 billion, representing 59.3% of the company’s total top line.
The most notable risk to Apple stems from the fact that its success comes and goes with the iPhone. If a competitor can make a breakthrough innovation to introduce a new hardware device that becomes the default for most consumers to access the internet and the digital world, then Apple’s competitive position can start to weaken.
This risk factor deserves more attention these days, particularly as artificial intelligence (AI) starts to have an impact on the world. AI’s strongest bulls believe this technology can fundamentally alter the broader economy, all the way from how businesses operate to how consumers behave. If there is a significant change, then it opens the door for an AI-native device to come to market and find broad adoption, whatever form this takes.
Investors should pay attention to new AI hardware devices coming to market. For what it’s worth, OpenAI plans to unveil a device in the back half of 2026. Even Apple is reportedly working on a wearable pin.
There’s no reason to panic, though.
While the world is inherently unpredictable, I’m just not convinced that a product will come up that replaces the iPhone anytime soon. Apple has a phenomenal distribution advantage, with more than 2.5 billion active devices in the world.
