Apple’s stock market value

Apple’s stock market value briefly broke back through the $1 trillion barrier yesterday as Wall Street breathed a sigh of relief at signs that it has put the worst of the iPhone tumble behind it. Late the day before, the tech group had predicted a quicker rebound than expected from a six-month revenue slide, caused by weaker handset sales, particularly in China. The news brought a 6 per cent rally in Apple’s shares early yesterday, pushing it through the $1 trillion mark it first crossed last summer — though the autumn tech stock slide and the iPhone’s problems later wiped $330 billion from its value… Tim Cook, chief executive, pointed to broader economic and political factors likely to be seen as encouraging for other companies that sell to consumers in China. Among them was a boost from Chinese government actions to stimulate the economy, including a cut in the value added tax rate… The easing of worries about the iPhone freed Wall Street to focus on other parts of Apple’s business where strong growth could soon outweigh the revenue declines in the handset. These included a 22 per cent jump in iPad revenue — the best in six years — after a product overhaul last year. Revenue from services climbed 16 per cent, to $11.5 billion. While accounting for only 20 per cent of sales, services brought in a third of Apple’s gross profits.

Richard Waters