Apple is inching closer to becoming the first trillion dollar company after the firm’s market value passed $950bn (£708bn) for the first time.
After Apple’s annual conference opening on Monday, the company’s shares increased by 0.8 per cent to $191.83 (£142.86) and at the time of writing are worth $193.31 (£144.04).
Sales of the iPhone have been strong since the start of this year with the company also buoyed by the news that legendary investor Warren Buffett scooped up another 75 million shares in the first quarter of this year.
The news comes as technology shares in other companies such as Amazon, Netlix and Baidu reach new highs not seen since 2001, beating markets elsewhere.
Apple is inching closer to becoming the first trillion dollar company after the firm’s market value passed $950bn (£708bn) for the first time. In this image Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during an announcement at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference Monday
Apple’s shares have increased by 18 per cent this year with iPhone sales rising by 3 per cent in the same quarter.
Despite concerns about poor sales of the iPhone X, the company’s other products have been selling well, analysts say.
With an additional rise of just 5 per cent the company will reach the $1 trillion (£745 million) mark.
If it crosses the trillion-dollar threshold, it will become the first US company to do so – a title that fellow tech giants Amazon, Google and Microsoft have also been vying to achieve.
It is uncertain if Apple will become the world’s first trillion-dollar company when it eventually reaches the landmark.
Saudi Arabia values its national oil company, Aramco, at $2 trillion (£1.5 trillion), making it the world’s most valuable publicly traded company.
A number of analysts doubt this figure, with some estimates putting the company’s worth as low as $500 billion (£370 billion).
After Apple’s annual conference on Monday, the company’s shares increased by 0.8 per cent to $191.83 (£142.86) and at the time of writing are worth $193.31 (£144.04)
The Nasdaq index of technology shares was also boosted by strong growth from shares in Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet.
Shares of Asia’s tech giants Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Taiwan Semiconductor and Samsung have also risen significantly.
Ahead of the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting last month, Buffett spoke highly of his investment in Apple.
‘It is an unbelievable company,’ Buffett explained.
‘If you look at Apple, I think it earns almost twice as much as the second most profitable company in the United States’.
If it crosses the trillion-dollar threshold, it will become the first US company to do so – a title that fellow tech giants Amazon, Google and Microsoft have also been vying to achieve. Pictured is CEO Tim Cook
Buffett also criticised analysts and investors who have zeroed in on Apple’s sales of the iPhone X.
Months earlier, many grew increasingly concerned that Apple’s top-of-the-line phone has been a dud among consumers, due to its hefty $1,000 (£1,000) price tag.
‘The idea that you’re going to spend loads of time trying to guess how many iPhone Xs are going to be sold in a given 3 month period totally misses the point,’ Buffett said.
‘It’s like worrying about the number of Blackberrys ten years ago’.
WHAT IS APPLE’S CURRENT IPHONE LINEUP AND WHAT ARE ITS RUMOURED RELEASES?
Speculation has been building that Apple is slated to release a 6.1-inch iPhone next year that serves as a follow up to the 10th anniversary iPhone X.
The second-generation iPhone X would feature an even bigger screen, yet it may have a cheaper price point at just $550 (£550) vs. the $999 (£999) iPhone X.
A 6.1-inch screen would be the firm’s largest iPhone yet.
The second-generation iPhone X would feature an even bigger screen, yet it may have a cheaper price point at just $550 vs. the $999 iPhone X
Here’s how it stacks up to Apple’s current iPhone lineup:
- iPhone SE – 4 inch screen
- iPhone 6s – 4.7-inch screen
- iPhone 7 – 4.7-inch screen
- iPhone 8 – 4.7-inch screen
- iPhone 8 Plus – 5.5-inch screen
- iPhone X – 5.8-inch screen
In August 2017, rumours from the supply chain said the iPhone 9 will be available in two sizes, including one with a massive screen.
The ‘Plus’ size will reportedly have a 6.46-inch screen will be sold alongside a smaller 5.85-inch model in a bid to compete with Samsung’s Galaxy Note, the leak claimed.
It came from a source within Samsung Display, the sole OLED supplier for upcoming iPhones.
The source also said the smaller version was originally going to be a 5.28-inch model but that the firm upped it because of growing consumer demand for bigger-screen phones.
Apple’s stock price was also helped by the firm’s better-than-expected results for the March quarter.
The firm said it sold 52.2 million iPhones in the last three months, which was in line with analysts’ expectations.
Apple said that customers chose the $999 (£999) iPhone X ‘more than any other iPhone each week’ during the March quarter like they did in the December quarter.
The company’s recent shares boost followed its annual software conference where it revealed a series of updates designed to helm customers limit the time they spend on their devices.
At the event, the firm unveiled iOS 12 which will include a better do not disturb feature and more control over notifications that appear on screen.
Apple also revealed a much improved Siri AI, and better performance for older phones, along with new software for its Watch and TV.