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https://scmp.com/tech/apps-social/article/3045293/apple-stock-soars-record-high-after-company-announces-us142 Tech
Apple stock soars to record high after company announces US$1.42 billion in holiday App Store sales
- Apple shares surged on Wednesday after the company revealed App Store customers spent US$1.42 billion between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve
- The record-high close follows an 86 per cent gain through 2019
Apple’s stock soared as much as 2.4 per cent on Wednesday after the company announced the record holiday sales figure. File photo: AFP
Apple shares closed at a record high on Wednesday after revealing its App Store customers spent US$1.42 billion between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve.
The tech giant's stock soared as much as 2.4 per cent on Wednesday after the company announced the record holiday sales figure. App Store developers have now taken in more than US$155 billion since the platform launched in 2008, Apple said. A quarter of those earnings came from the past year, the company added.
The holiday-week sales represented a 16 per cent increase over last year's figure, according to the statement. App Store revenue totalled US$386 million on New Year's Day alone, a 20 per cent jump from the year-ago figure and a record for single-day sales.
The past year was the biggest yet for the company's increasingly important services sector, Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice-president of internet software and services, said in the announcement.
“We begin the new decade with incredible momentum and gratitude to our customers who have shown such enthusiasm for all of our services, and we continue to celebrate the work of the world's best creators, storytellers, journalists and developers,” Cue said.
The Cupertino, California-based company helped push major stock indexes higher throughout 2019, surging 86 per cent over the 12-month period on strong iPhone 11 demand and rapid growth in its wearables business. The annual gain was Apple's best since 2009.
Apple's outperformance in the past year is unlikely to be replicated in 2020, and the stock will “normalise at a higher valuation,” Deutsche Bank analysts Jeriel Ong and Ross Seymore wrote in a Monday note.
“In our view, such a set-up bodes poorly for investors who consider what to do with their AAPL holdings from present levels, as the stock is unlikely to come close to repeating last year's returns,” the analysts wrote.
Apple traded at US$303.19 per share when markets closed Tuesday, up roughly 4 per cent year-to-date.
The company has 27 “buy” ratings, 14 “hold” ratings, and seven “sell” ratings from analysts, with a consensus price target of US$274.55, according to Bloomberg data.
This article originally appeared on Business Insider.