Apple became the first company to reac
a market value of $700 billion (roughly
Rs. 43,61,469 crores) Tuesday as shares
vaulted amid upbeat news on the US tec
giant's gains in the smartphone market
and soon-to-arrive smartwatch.
Shares rose 1.9 percent to close at
$122.02, lifting Apple's market value to
$710 billion (roughly Rs. 44,23,775
crores), and making it the first company
to hit the $700 billion milestone.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook, speakin
at the Goldman Sachs Technology &
Internet Conference, said Apple was
hitting its stride.
"We've taken (the mobile operating
system) iOS and extended it into your
car, into your home, into your health. All
of these are really critical parts of your
life," Cook said.
"We want one seamless kind of life. And
so, I think that is huge for our future...W
also did a lot of things to further our
global footprint. And so, if you look at
what we've done in China, we've opened
more stores there. We've opened a lot
more distribution there. Through the
world, we've opened almost 20,000 new
points of sale. We've opened 27 new
Apple Stores, lot of flagship stores."
Cook said Apple took some $50 billion in
revenue in emerging markets over the
past calendar year.
Room to grow
Brian White, analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald
said the leading tech company has even
more room to grow.
"Given Apple's powerful iPhone cycle, a
big 4G ramp in China and the upcoming
launch of Apple Watch in April, we believ
there is still plenty to look forward to at
Apple during this transformational cycle,
he said in a note to clients.
"At the same time, we believe Apple's
valuation has room to expand from
depressed levels."
Apple shares remain valued at reasonabl
levels, according to analysts, because of
the whopping $18 billion (roughly Rs.
1,12,152 crores) quarterly profit reported
recently by the iPhone and iPad maker.
Using the price-earnings ratio favored b
Wall Street, Apple is valued at around 16
times its annual earnings, but Fitzgerald
said the value was only around 10 times
the projected earnings for the next fiscal
year.
Apple is far ahead in market value from
the number two company, oil giant Exxo
Mobil, worth some $382 billion (roughly
Rs. 23,80,115 crores) at the market clos
The record Apple quarterly profit on
unprecedented revenue of $74.6 billion
(roughly Rs. 4,64,807 crores) was driven
by the sale of 74.5 million iPhones , well
ahead of most analysts' expectations.
Analysts are also seeing expanded
adoption of the Apple Pay system that
enables customers to purchase items
with a tap of their iPhone, and many
predict strong demand for the Apple
Watch set for release in April.
Separately, Apple agreed to commit $84
million (roughly Rs. 5,283 crores) for
solar energy to power its data centers,
according to a statement from First
Solar, Inc.
Cook called the effort "our biggest,
boldest, and most ambitious project ever"
and said it was part of Apple's
commitment on clean energy and
corporate responsibility.
Apple will receive electricity from 130
megawatts under a 25-year power
purchase agreement, "the largest
agreement in the industry to provide
clean energy to a commercial end user,"
the solar firm said.
The 2,900-acre California Flats Solar
Project occupies part of a property owne
by Hearst Corporation in Cholame,
California, with construction set to start
this year.
Apple unveiled plans earlier this month t
pump $2 billion (roughly Rs. 12,461
crores) over the coming decade into a
solar-powered data center "global
command" facility in the southwest state
of Arizona.
Apple Becomes First Company Worth Over 0 Billion | NDTV Gadgets
