Apple's Cook calls $1 trillion value 'milestone,' says result of corporate values

Apple CEO Tim Cook on Thursday commented on the company's $1 trillion market capitalization, saying that while it is a milestone, there are more important measures of success.

In a memo to employees seen by Reuters, Cook was typically humble in acknowledging Apple's achievement, noting the high-water mark is a "significant milestone" of which there is "much to be proud." That said, the figure should not be the iPhone maker's focus.

"Financial returns are simply the result of Apple's innovation, putting our products and customers first, and always staying true to our values," Cook said.

The notion is not new. Cook commonly credits Apple's success to its core value of placing products and customers first. More recently, the executive has linked the company's social code with consumer privacy, saying it is Apple's moral compass that restricts the company from turning users into products.

Apple became the first publicly traded U.S. firm to breach the mythical $1 trillion threshold earlier today when its stock price hit $207.05. Previous estimates put the magic number at $203.45, but Apple revealed an adjusted share count of 4,829,926,000 in quarterly filings on Wednesday, moving the target to just above $207.

Apple retained its standing in after-hours trading, with prices hovering at $207.09 as of this writing.

Cook went on to reference the legacy and memory of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, whose leadership was pivotal bringing the company back from the brink of bankruptcy. Jobs' crowning achievement, the iPhone, debuted in 2007 and continues to be the company's main source of revenue.

"Steve founded Apple on the belief that the power of human creativity can solve even the biggest challenges — and that the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do," Cook wrote. "Just as Steve always did in moments like this, we should all look forward to Apple's bright future and the great work we'll do together."

34 Comments

SpamSandwich 32917 comments · 19 Years

About 6 years ago

Congrats, Apple. And may many more years of innovation be ahead.

(Yes, I know they probably aren't reading this.)

anantksundaram 20390 comments · 18 Years

On the day that Apple became the first trillion dollar company on the planet, it’s worth remembering this quote from Jobs: “Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying ‘we’ve done something wonderful’ – that’s what matters to me.”

That corporate value is probably associated with what made them the wealthiest company on the planet.

bestkeptsecret 4285 comments · 13 Years

Like the article stated, Tim Cook was as humble as ever. Kudos to Apple for the epic landmark. And kudos to Tim Cook for recognising the fact that there are more important things to keep doing.

Rayz2016 6957 comments · 8 Years

This is PRECISELY how I would expect the world’s best tech CEO to react.

The 1 trillion thing isn’t a target (as the bloggers would have you believe); it’s a happy side effect.

The only problem now of course is that we’ll have to put up with every Apple whine being prefixed with some derivative of “Why can’t a trillion dollar company …”

”Why can’t a trillion dollar company give me a massive 17-inch screen laptop with two parallel ports, four SCSI ports, a built-in vegetable juicer and keyboard with solid gold key switches for $699 including tax?? I mean they’re a trillion dollar company for Christ’s sake!”

What the whiners will forget, of course, is that this incredibly insignificant side effect came about because Apple focuses on its core customer base as it evolves, not on a handful of vocal forum dwellers who can’t.