Big Tech Stocks Trade Apart

The seven largest technology stocks in the United States no longer trade as a single unit. Analysts say investors must now select specific names rather than buying the entire group.

CNBC calculated the rolling 60-day correlation of daily returns for all 21 unique pairs among Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. The average of these readings recently dropped to its lowest point in more than a decade. This indicates the companies are behaving less like a cohesive block than they have in the past.

Gil Luria, an analyst at D.A. Davidson, said the companies all have different exposures to AI. He argued that this calls for a much more granular approach to deciding which of the largest mega-caps to own, instead of just owning them wholesale. The split has coincided with weaker results for the group overall. The Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF, which tracks these seven firms, is up 7% so far in 2026. The S&P 500 is up 12% over the same period.

Only two members of the group, Nvidia and Apple, are beating the broader market index in 2026. Tesla and Meta are the two members that are down year-to-date. Thomas DiFazio, ETF strategist at Roundhill Investments, said investors are weighing each company's independent fundamental growth drivers. He noted that they are focusing on micro factors that vary by company.

Apple shows how views on AI exposure have shifted. The iPhone maker was once penalized for not spending heavily on AI. It now leads the group with a 28% gain in 2026. In 2025, Apple returned 8.9%, which was the second worst performance in the group. Alphabet led that year with a 65.8% gain, while Amazon trailed with a 5.2% return. Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, called Apple the consistent tortoise of this race. Luria described it as the place to hide from the AI trade.

Nvidia has been volatile amid worries over chip demand. Shares peaked on October 6 and have fallen more than 13% since. Woods called the valuation relatively and historically cheap. Amazon has been slow and steady, with its cloud unit growing 37% year over year in the second quarter. That growth trailed Azure's 43% and Google Cloud's 82%.

Meta rose in September on enthusiasm for its Muse AI assistant. It turned lower after its third-quarter report showed negative free cash flow and a higher floor for full-year capital spending. Microsoft has recovered from fears that AI would disrupt its software business. It now faces resistance in the $530 to $550 range. Tesla has been left in the dust, according to Woods. Luria says its valuation carries an Elon premium.

Wall Street remains largely bullish on the group. According to LSEG, 58% of analysts give Apple a buy or strong buy rating. The figures are 97% for Amazon, 92% for Alphabet, 97% for Microsoft, 89% for Meta, 97% for Nvidia, and 50% for Tesla. Microsoft and Alphabet report earnings after the bell on Wednesday. Amazon follows after the close on Thursday.