APPLE TOPS $900B VALUATION

On a day when Apple announced its revival of Amazing Stories with some heavyweight talent behind it, and word leaked that a redesigned, high-end iPad is penciled in for an early 2018 release, the Cupertino conglom’s valuation topped $900 billion.

Apple became the first publicly traded U.S. company to reach a $900b during trading day Tuesday. The company’s share price bounced between $175 and $176 throughout the day.

Last week, Apple announced it results for fiscal Q4, which ended 9/30. Apple’s revenue rose 12% to $52.6b, while profit was up 19% to $10.7b from $9b in the same period a year earlier. That equates to $2.07 a share, a healthy uptick from the $1.67 share price a year ago, and considerably higher than analysts’ expectations of $1.87 a share.

These upbeat results were driven by rising iPhone demand—the 8 and 8 Plus started shipping on 9/22—pushing shipments to a 2.6% year-over-year increase to 46.7 million units. That upward move, accompanied by a more surprising turnaround in Mac and iPad sales, enabled Apple to post its fourth straight quarterly increase in revenue and third quarterly increase in profit. Sales in China, a critical market for Apple, rose for the first time since early 2016.

Consequently, Apple stock is up about 50% over the same point last year, pushing the tech giant’s valuation to $860b+. Happy days are here again for Tim Cook and his Cupertino posse, it appears.