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Apple is going from strength-to-strength as iPhone sales continue to impress the market and profits flood into the business. Having started out making Macs, the company has seen its valuation surge higher as it introduced new revolutionary products to the market. Between launching the first iPod in 2001 and the first iPhone in 2007 Apple’s market cap had surged from just $6 billion to $106 billion, and by the time it unveiled its latest model, the iPhone X, in September last year it had grown into a near $800 billion business.
Tim Cook has taken Apple onwards and upwards since he became interim chief executive in 2009 before taking the role on permanently shortly before the death of Steve Jobs in 2011. But despite all of his success – including the introduction of the iPad, ever-better iPhones that have kept us all interested and releasing new products like the Apple Watch – Cook has found himself cast in the shadow of Apple’s beloved founder since taking over. But Apple’s success story has never accelerated as fast as it has under Cook’s management.
Apple shares rally to hit market value of $1 trillion
Apple had already claimed the title as the world’s most valuable listed business last year and has comfortably stayed ahead of its rivals in the race for the $1 trillion valuation. Although shares were already heading higher, the real catalyst that pushed Apple shares to new highs was its most recent update on the last day of July that delivered better-than-expected results for the third quarter (Q3) of its financial year.
Shares were propelled higher by as much 9.3% in the days after the results, giving Apple a market value of $1 trillion on 2 August at a price of $207.50, ending the day at a record closing share price of $207.39.
Apple’s journey to a $1 trillion valuation
- 1980: Apple, initially concentrated on Mac computers, went public at a price of just $22 per share
- 2001: Apple launches the first iPod, boasting a market cap of just $5.8 billion
- 2007: the company’s valuation has grown to $106 billion as it unveils the first model of its most successful product, the iPhone
- 2009: Tim Cook takes over as interim CEO, worth $76 billion at the time
- 2010: Apple launches its first tablet, the iPad, to further boost its $237.6 billion valuation
- 2011: Tim Cook formally takes over as CEO of the $356.8 billion company, shortly before founder Steve Jobs dies (just one day after the firm released the iPhone 4S and introduced voice-assistant Siri to its products)
- 2014: the firm’s worth rises to $591 billion as it releases the iPhone 6 and then reveals it delivered the most profitable set of quarterly results by any public company ever
- 2017: having reached a valuation of $796 billion, Apple becomes the most valuable listed company ever, and launches its latest and most expensive smartphone model yet, the iPhone X
- 2018: Apple becomes the first publicly-listed business to reach a market cap of $1 trillion at a price of $207.50
Apple shares: tech analysis
Apple is the bull that you don’t want to get in front of, with the share price seemingly only ever moving in one direction over the years. The long-term picture is certainly a convincing one, with this month marking the fourth consecutive monthly record high for the company’s share price. The daily chart highlights the runaway success in the wake of the recent earnings report, with shares seeing three consecutive days of upside in the wake of Tuesday’s numbers. The difficulty here is that at some point we will retrace, and it makes sense to look for either a continuation pattern or retracement to base a trade around. The key support level that must hold is $180.74, with any downside looking like an opportunity to look for longs in Apple.