June 2022 was a brutal month to be holding tech. If you were watching the tickers back then, it felt like the floor was falling out from under the entire sector. Apple wasn’t immune. By the time the closing bell rang on the last day of the second quarter, the AAPL adjusted close June 30 2022 stood at $134.28.
That number isn't just a random data point on a chart. It represents a 12% drop in a single month. For a company with a market cap as massive as Apple’s, that’s a staggering amount of value evaporated into thin air. Honestly, it was a terrifying time for retail investors. The Fed was hiking rates like there was no tomorrow, inflation was hitting 9%, and everyone was screaming "recession" from the rooftops.
But here’s the thing. While the "unadjusted" price on that day was around $136.72, the adjusted close—which accounts for things like dividends—gives us the real story of what an investor's position was actually worth. Looking back from 2026, that $134.28 mark looks less like a disaster and more like one of the best entry points of the decade.
Breaking Down the $134.28 Close
Markets were a mess in mid-2022. You had the Russia-Ukraine conflict messing up energy prices, China’s "zero-COVID" policies locking down factories in Zhengzhou (iPhone City), and a sudden realization that the "cheap money" era was dead.
When we talk about the AAPL adjusted close June 30 2022, we’re looking at a price that had been beaten down by a perfect storm of macroeconomic pressure. On that specific Thursday, the stock actually gained a tiny bit of ground—up about 2% from the previous day—but the damage for the quarter was already done. Apple had just finished its worst quarter since the early days of the pandemic in 2020.
Why the "Adjusted" Part Matters
Most people just look at the price on the screen. Professional traders look at the adjusted close. Why? Because Apple pays a quarterly dividend. In May 2022, they paid out $0.23 per share. If you ignore that, your "return" calculation is wrong.
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- Unadjusted Close: $136.72
- Adjusted Close: $134.28
- The Difference: Accounts for the distribution of cash to shareholders and any corporate actions.
It’s a subtle shift, but it’s the only way to compare 2022 prices to what we see today in 2026. Without adjusting for dividends, you're essentially forgetting that the company handed you cash while you held the stock.
The Chaos Behind the Scenes
What was actually happening inside Apple Park while the stock was tanking? Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO, was busy telling everyone that the "challenging operating environment" was hitting their supply chain to the tune of $4 billion to $8 billion.
Investors were spooked. They weren't just worried about iPhones; they were worried people wouldn't have enough money to buy apps or subscribe to Apple TV+ because gas prices were $5 a gallon. In June 2022, the sentiment was "sell everything." Apple, being the most liquid stock in the world, often gets sold first when people need to raise cash.
That’s exactly why the price hit that $134 level. It wasn't because the iPhone 13 was a failure—it was actually selling great. It was because the macro environment forced a "de-risking" across the board.
A Quick Reality Check on the Numbers
Let's look at the volatility during that specific week. It wasn't a straight line down.
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- June 27: $141.66
- June 28: $137.44 (A sharp 3% drop)
- June 29: $139.23
- June 30: $136.72 (Actual) / $134.28 (Adjusted)
Seeing the stock swing $4 or $5 in a day was becoming the new normal. For long-term bulls, it was a test of nerves. For bears, it was proof that the "Big Tech" bubble was finally popping. Spoilers: it wasn't.
What Most People Get Wrong About June 2022
The biggest misconception is that Apple was "failing" during this period. On the contrary, the June quarter of 2022 actually set a revenue record of $83 billion. Think about that. While the stock was being sold off like a failing retail chain, the company was moving more hardware and services than ever before in its history for that time of year.
The disconnect between the AAPL adjusted close June 30 2022 and the company's actual earnings was massive. This is what's known as "multiple contraction." Investors were no longer willing to pay 30x earnings for Apple because interest rates were rising. The P/E ratio was shrinking even as the "E" (earnings) stayed strong.
It's a classic example of "the market is not the economy." The market was pricing in a future disaster that, for Apple at least, never quite arrived in the way people feared.
The 2026 Perspective: Was $134 a Steal?
Hindsight is always 20/20, but from where we sit today, that $134.28 adjusted close was a gift. If you had the guts to buy when everyone else was panicking about the Fed, you'd be looking at a gain of nearly 100% in less than four years, not even counting the subsequent dividends.
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Apple's resilience is legendary, but June 2022 really put it to the test. They managed to keep iPhone production flat while competitors were seeing double-digit declines. They grew their services business—the high-margin stuff—at a double-digit clip.
Actionable Insights for Investors
If you're looking at historical data like the AAPL adjusted close June 30 2022 to inform your current strategy, here are the big takeaways.
- Watch the P/E, not just the price. In June 2022, Apple's valuation dropped to around 22x forward earnings. Historically, for a company with Apple's moat, anything near 20x is usually a "screaming buy" territory.
- Macro noise is usually a distraction. The news in June 2022 was 90% about the Fed and 10% about Apple's products. If you focused on the product (the iPhone 14 rumors were already swirling) and the service ecosystem, you saw a different story.
- Adjusted close is the "True North". When calculating your long-term CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate), always use the adjusted figures. They represent the total return, which is the only thing that actually puts money in your bank account.
The 2022 slump taught us that even the "safest" stocks can get haircut by 25% in a bad year. But it also proved that for a company with $28 billion in quarterly cash flow, those dips are almost always temporary.
If you're tracking your portfolio's performance or looking for historical benchmarks, use that $134.28 mark as a symbol of peak market fear. It's the moment when the world's most successful company was essentially put on a "25% off" sale, just because the rest of the world was having a bad day.
For those looking to apply these lessons today, the move is to keep a "buy list" of companies you love and wait for the macro environment to break their stock price, even if it hasn't broken their business. That's exactly what happened in June 2022.
Next Steps for Your Portfolio:
- Compare your current holdings to their 2022 lows to see which stayed resilient and which crumbled; this reveals the true "moat" of your investments.
- Audit your dividend reinvestment settings. Using the adjusted close logic, ensure you are actually DRIP-ing (Dividend Reinvestment Plan) to capture the compounding effect that turned the 2022 slump into a 2026 windfall.
- Set "valuation alerts" rather than price alerts. Instead of waiting for a stock to hit a certain dollar amount, set an alert for when its P/E ratio hits a five-year low, mirroring the conditions of June 30, 2022.