On Monday, October 20th, Apple’s stock price soared to a record high, poised to become the third company to surpass a market value of $4 trillion following Nvidia and Microsoft. Data shows strong demand for the latest iPhone 17 in both the American and Chinese markets.
According to research firm Counterpoint, early sales performance of the iPhone 17 series in China and the US exceeded that of the previous generation. The sales volume in the first 10 days after the new iPhone was launched in these two countries increased by 14% compared to last year’s iPhone 16 series.
Counterpoint’s senior analyst Mengmeng Zhang stated in the report, “The base model of the iPhone 17 is highly attractive to consumers with great value for money. It comes with a more powerful chip, outstanding display, larger base storage, upgraded selfie camera, all while maintaining the same price as last year’s iPhone 16. Purchasing this device is a wise choice, especially when coupled with discounts and coupons.”
On Monday, Apple’s stock price rose by 4.2% to $262.9, reaching a market value of around $3.9 trillion, making it the world’s second-largest market value company, only behind AI chip giant Nvidia.
Over the weekend, Evercore ISI included Apple in its “Outperform the Market” list as the brokerage firm expects Apple’s performance in the current three months to exceed market expectations and has an optimistic forecast for the December quarter.
In September, Apple released an upgraded iPhone series, including the lighter and thinner iPhone Air, while maintaining stable prices.
“They launched the latest version of the iPhone, and it performed well beyond expectations…The demand trend for the company’s iPhones is now in a leading position,” said B Riley Wealth’s Chief Market Strategist, Art Hogan.
Capital management firm Loop Capital stated that with demand for the latest generation iPhone surpassing expectations, Apple’s stock price is likely to further increase. The company upgraded Apple from “Hold” to “Buy” and raised its target price from $226 per share to $315 per share.
Earlier this year, Apple’s stock price was under pressure due to concerns about the Chinese market outlook and uncertainties surrounding how Apple would deal with the high tariffs in the US.
However, since early August, the company pledged an additional $100 billion investment in the US, which may help it avoid potential tariffs, consequently leading to a slight increase in stock prices.
If the uptrend continues, the stock will record its largest single-day gain in four weeks, with a cumulative increase of over 5% this year.
Apple is set to announce its quarterly earnings after the market closes on October 30th.
(Adapted from reports by Reuters and CNBC)