Today, Apple has done something that puts the company in rarified air. In after hours trading, the company briefly broke the $700 barrier following the news that the iPhone had (unexpectedly) become the fastest-selling iPhone of all time.
Apple’s share price closed today at $699.78, up $8.50 (1.23%). But in after hours trading, the price has breached $700 a couple of times. As it sits, Apple’s market cap is $655.98 billion.
Last Friday, Apple opened up pre-orders on the new iPhone 5, and Apple reported that initial stock had sold out within hours. Before most people in the U.S. has even woken up, shipping dates slipped from September 21st to September 28th. On that day, Apple stock soared over 13% and flirted with $700 – but it never broke the barrier. Today, Apple can say that they’re part of an elite club that includes companies like Google and Berkshire Hathaway.
Earlier this morning, Apple announced that the iPhone 5 had shattered the first day pre-order record by selling over 2 million devices in 24 hours. The previous record belonged to the iPhone 4S, which sold 1 million units on the first day of pre-orders. AT&T also announced that the iPhone 5 had broken their records for iPhone pre-orders.
“iPhone 5 is the best iPhone yet, the most beautiful product we’ve ever made, and we hope customers love it as much as we do,” said Apple’s VP of Marketing Phil Schiller. Apparently, there are plenty of people who have confidence that the iPhone 5 will be Apple’s biggest product yet.
