Apple is almost a US$1 trillion company, but watch out for Amazon
SAN FRANCISCO: Apple is on the verge of becoming the first US$ 1 trillion publicly listed US company, but even if it gets there, it could soon be overtaken as Amazon.com surges from behind.
Started in the garage of cofounder Steve Jobs in 1976, the iPhone maker’s annual revenue has ballooned to US$ 229 billion, greater than the gross domestic product of countries including Portugal and New Zealand.
Apple’s market capitalisation on Thursday topped a record US$ 934 billion, following its unveiling last week of a US$ 100 billion buyback budget and news that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway dramatically increased its stake in the company.
Thanks to a 12 per cent rally since its quarterly report last Tuesday, the Cupertino, California company is just eight per cent short of hitting the US$ 1 trillion valuation mark.
Pointing to Apple’s recent 31 per cent jump in service revenue, including music streaming and online storage, CFRA analyst Angelo Zino on Wednesday upped his target price for the stock from US$ 195 to US$ 210, which would put Apple’s market capitalisation at US$ 1.03 trillion. Zino joins at least 12 other analysts with price targets putting Apple’s stock market value at 13 digits.
But Apple is in danger of being beaten to the US$ 1 trillion mark - or passed soon after – by Amazon.com, the second largest listed US company by market value, at US$ 780 billion.
Saudi Arabian authorities, meanwhile, have said they expect a planned international initial public offering of Saudi Aramco that would value the national oil producer at about US$ 2 trillion.
While US$ 148 billion smaller than Apple on Friday, Amazon of late has expanded its stock price, and its sales, much more quickly than Apple. Amazon’s stock is red hot, trading recently at over 100 times expected earnings, compared to more-profitable - but slower growing - Apple’s valuation of 15 times earnings.