I placed a bet on Apple when its operations (and stock price) have been affected by trade tariffs on China during the first Trump Administration. It was a great chance to believe on a great company affected by exogenous problems.

Although it was a trade based on fear and short-term perceptions (if handled quick, which have been), the multiples back then still made sense.

Right now they don't.
Apple more than doubled its EV/EBITDA multiple between 2017 and 2024. What did it exactly do throughout this period of time?

Nothing. Investors are betting on the market dominance of Apple to somehow make the company benefit from the AI wave (which is currently not surfing), or on the naive hope for a cool new product.