Peter Thiel said Apple Inc. has done nothing new since Steve Jobs died and is now simply a well-run value stock, according to a Business Insider story by Truman Dickerson published on Saturday, October 24th, 2026. Benzinga put Apple's market capitalization at about $5.07 trillion at the time the comments circulated.
The remarks came in a September interview with author Walter Isaacson for "The Builders" podcast. Business Insider quoted Thiel saying that, in his telling, Apple did nothing new after Jobs. The podcast episode was released on Thursday, with Dealroom dating the release to October 22nd, 2026 and Benzinga saying only that it came out earlier in the week.
What happened
Per a transcript of the episode circulated on X by the account @dnapway and summarized by Dealroom, Thiel said Apple had by far the lowest dollar spend on research and development and by far the largest on share buybacks, and described the company as just this pure, well-run value stock. That characterization is Thiel's own. None of the outlets in the coverage checked it against Apple's financial statements.
According to the same circulated transcript and Dealroom's summary, Thiel called Tim Cook the anti-Jobs and the zero charisma, efficient operator. Business Insider quoted him saying he would still say that somehow Elon or Steve Jobs are way better for society than Tim Cook, a line Benzinga also carried.
Where the stock stands
Benzinga listed Apple's market capitalization at about $5.07 trillion, with a 52-week high of $351.73 and a 52-week low of $243.42. CNN's market page reported a close of $347.73 and a market cap of $5,074.76 billion, describing the stock as trading near the top of its 52-week range and above its 200-day moving average.
The headline number is not settled across sources. GuruFocus reported that on October 23rd, 2026 Apple shares rose 0.4% to a record $349.55 in early trading, valuing the company between $5.07 trillion and $5.08 trillion and putting it ahead of Nvidia's $5.064 trillion. StockAnalysis.com listed $5.06 trillion for October 23rd, 2026, and Capital.com listed $5.15 trillion as of October 24th, 2026. No outlet tied any price movement to Thiel's comments, and the cause of the moves reported is not established in the coverage. More detail on the company sits at /companies/AAPL.
What the record shows
This is a report of public remarks on a podcast, not a share transaction. No SEC filing, no Form 4 and no disclosed Apple shareholding by Peter Thiel was reported in connection with the comments, and no outlet reported Thiel buying or selling Apple stock. On our side of the ledger there is nothing to add: the event leaves no trading record.
Both Business Insider and Benzinga noted that Thiel has said versions of this before, telling Maureen Dowd of The New York Times in 2017 that Apple's era was over. Both also noted that Apple's stock has risen substantially since then. Benzinga reported Thiel's argument that the mobile phone was a giant invention with little left to do afterward, quoting him saying that what followed was just scaling and branding and building it out over 15 years or whatever.
What to watch
Business Insider referred to Tim Cook as Apple Chairman rather than chief executive, consistent with September 2026 reports from TechXplore, Houston Public Media (NPR) and Digitimes that John Ternus had taken over as Apple's CEO and unveiled the foldable iPhone Duo. Benzinga noted the same foldable launch, arriving nearly 20 years after the original iPhone. Business Insider noted that Jobs died of cancer in 2011 and unveiled the first iPhone in 2007 at a conference in San Francisco.
Neither Apple, Tim Cook nor John Ternus was reported by Business Insider or Benzinga to have responded, and no Apple statement has been made public.
Reporting from Business Insider (via AOL syndication), Benzinga, Dealroom, a transcript posted on X by @dnapway, "The Builders" on Apple Podcasts, GuruFocus, StockAnalysis.com, CNN Markets and TechXplore, as of October 24th, 2026.
Informational only, not investment advice.