Historic value: Apple becomes 1st company worth more than $700B

Apple became 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 percent to close at $122.02, lifting Apple’s market value to $710 billion — almost twice the value of the next-biggest company, oil giant Exxon Mobil, which saw its shares fall by 0.6 percent and closed with a value of about $385 billion. Among tech companies, rival Microsoft has a market cap of $349.48 billion.

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 CEO Tim Cook

Apple shares remain valued at reasonable levels, according to analysts, because of the whopping $18 billion quarterly profit recently reported 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, although one analyst said the value was only around 10 times the projected earnings for the next fiscal year.

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

Business apple