Apple CEO Tim Cook was among the guests of honor at Tuesday's annual Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, where he discussed a range of topics including the Apple Watch's role in life, Apple Pay's growth, and the symbiotic partnership with enterprise giant IBM.
Shares of Apple reached a new all-time high on Tuesday, closing at $122.02 per share, with a record breaking market capitalization level of $710.74 billion — the largest closing value ever for any U.S. company.
Apple today is expected to complete a two-part sale of Swiss-franc bonds, raising at least $1.08 billion U.S. to help fund its massive ongoing capital reinvestment program.
Apple looks set to continue expanding its debt offering program, with the company reportedly planning a new sale of bonds denominated in Swiss francs designed to take advantage of the extremely low yields available in the market.
On February 12, Apple will pay shareholders of record a quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share, but investors will need to buy shares by February 5th (to have settled ownership of the company's stock by the market's close on February 9) in order to qualify.
While the $6.5 billion bond issue revealed on Monday may be enough to cover its existing capital return program, Wells Fargo believes that Apple could be forced to either raise an additional round of debt or repatriate cash from overseas if the program is to continue its traditional annual increase.
Apple on Monday disclosed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it is gearing up to sell another $5 billion in debt through a new bond offering.
Apple's best-ever quarter has turned into serious gains for the company's stock price, which reached new all-time highs during intraday trading on Friday, briefly reaching the $120 threshold.
Apple does not appear to be resting on its laurels despite record sales of its iPhone and Mac, as the company spent nearly $2 billion on research and development in the first fiscal quarter of 2015, an increase of more than 40 percent over the year-ago figure.
Activist investor Carl Icahn believes shares of Apple should be valued much higher than their current trading price, and on Wednesday said he even plans to revise his own price target for the stock, which he called a "no-brainer" investment.
Apple's stunning first quarter of fiscal 2015 blew virtually every prediction out of the water, and left Wall Street analysts rushing to increase their price targets on Wednesday as the stock jumped higher.
Apple on Tuesday announced a record smashing $74.5 billion in revenue with the usual suspects U.S. and Europe sales ticking the highest numbers, but China is quickly moving in on second place after bringing in a huge $16.1 billion.
Apple reported the biggest quarter in its company's history on Monday, selling nearly 100 million iPhones and iPads to earn $74.6 billion in quarterly revenue. Following the announcement, executives from the company participated in a conference call with analysts and the media, and notes of interest follow.
Apple completely crushed not only its own all-time records, but also even the loftiest expectations on Wall Street on Tuesday, selling a whopping 74.5 million iPhones on its way to $18 billion in net profit in a single, massively successful quarter.
With just a few hours to go before Apple reports the results of its first fiscal quarter of 2015, Wall Street is hyped for what it expects will be a blockbuster, all-time record for the iPhone maker.
While most investors are focused on Apple's annual product cycles and growth, Piper Jaffray sees a new category of shareholders emerging, focused on the power of the platform and a loyal customer base.
Wells Fargo Securities continues to go against the grain with a neutral "market perform" rating on shares of Apple, forecasting that shares will trend lower in the face of high expectations on Wall Street.
The yearly earnings of Apple's board members was revealed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, including CEO Tim Cook who received compensation of over $9.22 million in 2014, more than doubling his pay from 2013.
Longtime Apple board member Millard "Mickey" Drexler announced intentions to retire at the end of his current term, which will end in March at the company's annual shareholders meeting, leaving seven candidates for election to fill his place.
Apple is expected to announce yet another quarter of record sales next week, a trend that investment bank Morgan Stanley believes will continue throughout the spring as demand for the iPhone and Mac remains strong alongside the long-awaited release of the Apple Watch.
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AppleInsider Staff
Neil Hughes
Katie Marsal
Sam Oliver
Daniel Eran Dilger
Mikey Campbell
