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SAN FRANCISCO — As markets closed on Friday, Apple’s market cap was more than $3 trillion, making it its most valuable company of all time.
It’s a massive milestone for the tech giant, which warned investors in May that sales are likely to fall in the current quarter. But the share price, which rose just over 2 percent on Friday to close at $193.97 per share, suggests investors still have confidence in the company, a bright spot in an industry that has been struggling in the past year was otherwise rocked by layoffs and insecurity.
Daniel Ives, a senior equities research analyst at Wedbush Securities, said in a note Friday that it was a “historic day for the technology sector, with Cupertino taking the lead.”
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company stands in sharp contrast to other big tech giants — like Meta, Google, and Amazon — that have cut costs and laid off tens of thousands of employees over the past year. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post. The Post’s interim chief Patty Stonesifer sits on Amazon’s board of directors.) In May, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company was slowing the pace of hiring but that layoffs were “the last thing.” resort.”
Apple’s record rating comes several weeks after it unveiled the $3,499 Vision Pro headset, a big bet on a device that has yet to be embraced by the general public. Several other companies, including Meta and Snap, are also working on face computers.
“Apple bears and skeptics continue to puzzle as many have called for Apple’s ‘broken growth story’ this year, and against a more difficult backdrop which we firmly believe has been the complete opposite and Cupertino up next year heading for a massive growth renaissance.” 12 to 18 months,” Ives said.
Apple set a similar record in January 2022 when the company hit a $3 trillion market cap in intraday trading but did not close the trading day at that level.
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