Apple becomes first company worth over $700 billion

Apple has become the first company to reach a market value of $700 billion Tuesday as shares vaulted amid upbeat news on the U.S. tech giant’s gains in the smartphone market and soon-to-arrive smartwatch. Shares rose 1.9 per cent to close at $122.02, lifting Apple’s market value to $710 billion, and making it the first company to hit the $700 billion milestone.

We’ve taken [the mobile operating system] iOS and extended it into your car, into your home, into your health. All of these are really critical parts of your life.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook

Apple shares remain valued at reasonable levels, according to analysts, because of the whopping $18 billion quarterly profit reported recently by the iPhone and iPad maker. Using the price-earnings ratio favored by Wall Street, Apple is valued at around 16 times its annual earnings, but Fitzgerald said the value was only around 10 times the projected earnings for the next fiscal year. Apple is far ahead in market value from the number two company, oil giant Exxon Mobil, worth some $382 billion at the market close.

Given Apple’s powerful iPhone cycle, a big 4G ramp in China and the upcoming launch of Apple Watch in April, we believe there is still plenty to look forward to at Apple during this transformational cycle.

Brian White, analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald

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