“Apple Inc.’s stock soared to an all-time high, surpassing a 2012 record as investors look ahead to new products such as bigger-screen iPhones and a wristwatch-like device that may jump-start revenue growth,” Adam Satariano reports for Bloomberg.
“After rising more than sevenfold following the 2007 debut of its smartphone, Apple’s stock lost a third of its value in the year after the iPhone 5’s release on concerns that the company was running out of hit product ideas without co-founder Steve Jobs. The tenor has changed, with analysts estimating record sales for the next batch of iPhones, set to be released later this year,” Satariano reports. “Activist investor Carl Icahn, who had pushed Apple to buy back more of its own stock earlier this year, said the rise in the company’s share price validated his earlier claim that the iPhone maker was undervalued.”
“‘All my chips still on the table and in fact increased position over past year,’ Icahn said in a Twitter post. Icahn owns 52.8 million shares in Apple worth $5.3 billion, according to a recent filing,” Satariano reports. “In June, people familiar with the plans said Apple planned to start mass production on two smartphones with larger screens… Meanwhile, Samsung, Apple’s biggest competitor, has seen its stock decline 8.6 percent this year. Earnings at the world’s largest maker of mobile phones have fallen for three consecutive quarters, pinched between competition with Apple for customers of high-end smartphones and Chinese manufacturers such as Xiaomi Corp. and Lenovo Group Ltd. for less-expensive models.”
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