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| Credit: Barron’s |
Apple’s market value recently reached over $3 trillion. This happened in less than 5 years since it first reached $1 trillion in August 2018.
Apple’s stock (AAPL), reached a new all-time high on Friday. This means that the value of Apple’s company in the stock market exceeded $3 trillion. This is only the second time this has happened in history. Big technology companies like Apple have been performing very well in the U.S. stock market.
Citigroup, a bank, also helped boost Apple’s stock by giving it a positive rating and setting a target price of $240 per share. They believe that the stock still has the potential to go up by another 30% from its current price. Citigroup based this prediction on strong sales of iPhones and increasing revenue from Apple’s services.
Apple’s overall revenue for the second quarter of the fiscal year, which ended in March, was driven by better-than-expected iPhone sales that reached $51.33 billion. However, the company’s total revenue decreased by 2.5% to $94.84 billion. On the other hand, revenue from Apple’s important services business increased by 5.5% to $20.91 billion.
Atif Malik, an analyst from Citigroup, said that Apple is doing well despite the slowdown in the economy and the increase in prices of goods and services. He believes that Apple is gaining more customers from Android phones. Malik also mentioned that the market is underestimating Apple’s ability to increase its profit margins. This can happen through selling iPhones at higher prices, gaining more customers in China and India, reducing costs for making phones, and selling more profitable services.
In the first hour of trading, the price of Apple shares increased by 1.267% and reached $192.74 each. Earlier in the trading session, the shares hit a new record high of $192.79 each.
So far this year, Apple’s stock has risen by approximately 48.35%, based on the closing price of December 30. This has pushed the total value of the company, which is headquartered in Cupertino, California, to slightly over $3.02 trillion.
Apple achieved the $2 trillion milestone in August 2020. This was partly due to increased sales of iPhones and Macs during the global pandemic. It took Apple nearly two years to reach $2 trillion after becoming the first U.S. company to exceed the $1 trillion mark.
The gains made by Apple in 2023 have significantly contributed to the overall performance of the Nasdaq index, which has seen a year-to-date gain of approximately 30%. This is the best start to a year for the Nasdaq since 1983.
Apple’s shares were last valued at just over $3 trillion in early January 2022 when the stock traded at $182.86. However, at that time, there were more Apple shares available, which helped boost its overall value.
Last year, Apple issued a total of $89.402 billion worth of shares, taking into account the shares it bought back. In the first three months of 2023, there was a net issuance of $39.07 billion worth of shares.
Apple’s strong performance in 2023 has played a significant role in driving the overall gains of the Nasdaq index, which has seen a year-to-date increase of about 30%. This marks the best start to a year for the Nasdaq since 1983.
The influence of major technology companies, often referred to as “The Magnificent Seven” by Bank of America, has been undeniable. These companies include Apple, Microsoft, Google (now known as Meta), Amazon, Tesla, and Nvidia. Together, they have contributed around 9% of the S&P 500’s year-to-date gain of approximately 14%.
In addition, these seven stocks account for nearly 31% of the assets managed by the Global Wealth and Investment Management division, representing a 44% increase since the beginning of the year.
