Hear that? It’s the sound of corks popping as Apple’s stock price rockets to new highs. Following Apple’s landmark victory against Samsung late Friday night, the company’s stock price (NASDAQ:AAPL) opened today at a record high of $680 per share, the first day of trading since the court ruling. This record surpasses the company’s all-time high of $674.88, which was achieved on last Tuesday, August 21. This record also pushed Apple’s market capitalization to a new high of $637 billion.
Last Friday, the jury in the Samsung v. Apple case awarded Apple $1.049 billion in damages. After just three days of deliberating, the jury found that Samsung purposely infringed on key Apple patents. Investors are clearly reacting in kind, sending the stock to record heights.
The jury originally awarded Apple $1,051,855,000 in damages, but Judge Lucy Koh sent the jurors back to deliberate over two discrepancies that resulted in Apple being awarded $2.20 million in damages. The jurors overturned their previous decision on a specific patent, thus lowering the amount Samsung owes by $2.2 million in damages.
Samsung is now expected to appeal the ruling, calling it a “loss for the American consumer” in a released statement on Friday. Samsung’s stock price is reacting predictably following the court ruling. The stock is currently trading down 7.45% on the Korea Stock Exchange as investors are seemingly reacting to court ruling on Friday. This has caused the company’s market value to drop $12 billion.
Apple’s stock price reached previous highs based primarily on speculation of upcoming products. Apple is widely expected to launch a new iPhone in the middle of next month. Then, perhaps as soon as October, a new, smaller iPad could be announced. Then there’s the so-called Apple HDTV, a heavily rumored, top-secret project that seemingly excites both the consumer and investor alike. With at least two of these hot products launching this year, chances are Apple will surpass today’s record stock price and market capitalization several times before the New Year’s ball drops.
