Apple Inc. became the first U.S. company with a market value of more $800 billion as investors bet the next iPhone will spur a resurgence in sales.

The stock rose 1 percent Tuesday to close at $153.99 in New York, giving it a market capitalization of about $803 billion. The shares have gained 33 percent since the start of the year, helped by a buyback program that Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook extended to total $210 billion last week, from $175 billion last year.

Apple’s rise to the top of the world’s largest equity market highlights the emergence of mobile technology and the relative decline of the oil industry in recent years. Exxon Mobil Corp.’s value peaked in the fall of 2007, when oil prices climbed toward $100 a barrel. In November of that year, PetroChina Co. briefly became the first global company with a market capitalization of more than $1 trillion.

Apple’s revenue grew in the most recent fiscal quarter even as iPhone unit sales fell. Cook has sought to diversify the Cupertino, California-based company away from the smartphone, emphasizing higher-margin services such as the App Store and iCloud, and introducing new products such as the Apple Watch and AirPod wireless headphones.

After a modest upgrade to the iPhone last year, Apple will unveil three new iPhones later this year to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of the first model. The updated range will include a new top-of-the-line handset with an overhauled look, people familiar with the plan told Bloomberg News in April. Apple is testing a new type of screen, curved glass and stainless steel materials, and more advanced cameras for that redesigned device.

Source:
courtesy of BLOOMBERG

by Alex Webb

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