Apple bars employees from using confidential information on prediction markets in updated insider trading policy

Apple has added prediction markets to its insider trading rules. The change appears in the company's fiscal 2026 Form 10-K, published this week, which includes a revised policy aimed at employees who might use internal knowledge to take positions on future events.

Under the policy, employees may not take part in prediction markets or similar platforms to wager, bet, trade, buy or sell contracts tied to the outcome of future events, or otherwise enter into event contracts, when doing so involves Apple Confidential Information. The restriction also covers information about other companies Apple works with, including suppliers, manufacturers, vendors, customers such as cellular network carriers, and other business partners.

Staff are likewise barred from disclosing or tipping Apple Confidential Information to anyone who could use it in such markets. The definition of confidential information is not limited to material nonpublic information. The filing says the prohibition applies whether or not the conduct would legally count as insider trading or securities trading under applicable laws, which makes the internal rule broader than existing legal tests.

The rules also reach people who have left the company or been dismissed. They fall away once a product, service or update has been publicly announced, because the information is then public and no longer gives a basis for an informed wager.

The move comes as concern about insider activity on prediction markets grows. US defense secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly warned Pentagon staff that the practice could expose sensitive military plans to foreign actors. Operators such as Kalshi and Polymarket have their own policies against insider trading, while many large technology companies have had less developed rules on the subject.

The update arrives during a period of rapid growth for the sector. Average daily trading volume across prediction markets rose 55% in October to more than $4 billion, setting a new record.