Apple regains spot as most valuable US company as shares rebound

Apple on Wednesday reclaimed the crown of most valuable company in the U.S., hitting an $821.59 billion market cap as shares climbed to $174.24 at the end of trading.

The company beat out rivals Amazon and Microsoft, which reached caps of $805.70 billion and $813.48 billion, respectively. All three are now giant multinationals on which much of the global economy is dependent.

Apple shares tanked to $142.19 on Jan. 3 following an announcement that it would miss December-quarter guidance by at least $5 billion. Its final December figures, released on Jan. 29, showed $84.3 billion in global revenue.

The stock quickly rebounded as investors realized it was an opportune time to buy and Apple had already prepared people for the worst. Nevertheless shares are leagues away from a six-month high, $232.07, set on Oct. 3, 2018.

In its January revelations Apple admitted that iPhone sales took a major hit, largely because of poor performance in China. CEO Tim Cook also blamed factors like "foreign exchange headwinds," "economic weakness in some emerging markets," and even Apple's discounted battery replacement program, which saw at least 11 times more swaps than the company had planned for.

The iPhone has taken a beating in China mostly because local vendors like Huawei and Xiaomi are selling competitive phones that cost hundreds of dollars less than Apple's. Compounding matters has been a strong U.S. dollar, a weak Chinese economy, and the effects of the U.S.-China trade war.

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11 Comments

EsquireCats

said about 5 years ago

Regarding 11x battery swaps:

Was that 11x more swaps than Apple had “planned for”, or rather 11x what they’d normally expect over the same time period if they werent running the discount promotion.

I think Tim’s words implied the later, not the former.

tzeshan

said about 5 years ago

Apple bought back many shares after reaching one trillion dollars last year. Including those shares will make Apple value much more.

AppleExposed

said about 5 years ago

AI, I need to buy some AAPL shares. Can you guys run a few doom articles?

Thanx!

sflocal

said about 5 years ago

AppleExposed said:

AI, I need to buy some AAPL shares. Can you guys run a few doom articles?

Thanx!

Back in 2008 during the big market crash, when everyone was panic selling.. I loaded up on AAPL with my co-worker/friend watching me do it. Against his advise, and my financial adviser's advice, I loaded up on AAPL at essentially the lowest share price. I made a 6-figure profit from it.

Fast forward to last week. With my SAME co-worker/friend sitting next to me... I loaded up again on AAPL. Sure, it will not be the same action that my 2008 purchase was, but even then I told him (he invests in the market also - badly) I told him to it's practically the same opportunity. So once again, I loaded up on AAPL and while it's only been a few days, already made a few thousand on it. Given how low AAPL was, anyone watching the game that goes on with this company, it was practically a no-brainer it was going up.

Thinking my buddy was smarter this time around, I was surprised when he told me to check AAPL price and when I realized the expression on his face, I realized that once again did not take advantage of it. I rarely jump into a particular stock, but I also see a bargain and act on it.

Some people (especially the trolls) thump their chests with their "Apple is doomed" rhetoric from their parent's basement, others take that risk (as "risky" as AAPL was last week) and are rewarded for their patience and due diligence. It was a fun week for me. :)

iOS_Guy80

said about 5 years ago

Patience is certainly a virtue when investing. If you did not buy 🍎shares in the last week, you may have missed a good opportunity. Although buying Apple whenever is money in the bank, especially when reinvesting dividends.