CAPE TOWN - Apple could be the first company to reach a trillion-dollar market valuation as its shares are less than 3 percent away from hitting the mark, according to a report carried by the Financial Times.
On Wednesday August 1, Apple’s shares closed up almost 6 percent and this was seen as its best one-day gain in 18 months, after reporting better than expected results on Tuesday night.
Apple announced its financial results for its fiscal 2018 third quarter stating that it was the fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth for the tech giant.
In its third-quarter results, Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook said that they were thrilled to report Apple’s best June quarter results. “Our Q3 results were driven by continued strong sales of iPhone, Services, and Wearables, and we are very excited about the products and services in our pipeline.”
The company posted quarterly revenue of $53.3 billion (R717bn), an increase of 17 percent from the year-ago quarter, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $2.34, up 40 percent.
The company said international sales accounted for 60 percent of the quarter’s revenue. Apple’s board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.73 per share of the company’s common stock.
Apple’s chief financial officer Luca Maestri, said: “Our strong business performance drove revenue growth in each of our geographic segments, net income of $11.5bn, and operating cash flow of $14.5bn.
“We returned almost $25bn to investors through our capital return program during the quarter, including $20bn in share repurchases.”
After the stock closed at a record high of $201.50 on Wednesday, an after-hours regulatory filing revealed the latest share count as 4.83bn shares, as at July 20. That means that Apple’s market capitalisation stands at $973.2bn, as at the market close.
Markets.com chief analyst Neil Wilson believes Apple could have reached $1tn valuation yesterday but now this brings Tesla’s earnings call in focus.
“Although it would be a bit of a stretch… it’s only a matter of time before it achieves a valuation of $1tn. If it does, cue some big profit taking but it would be a moment to savour for Tim Cook”, Wilson said.
Wilson said we should be looking ahead to the Tesla earnings call with glee as it was getting close to make or break time for the company. He said that investors would be hoping Musk could show greater decorum than previously