Shares of Apple rose this week, pushing its market valuation towards that coveted $1 trillion mark. The bump followed the iPhone maker’s impressive quarterly report, which won back investors worried about the company’s declining iPhone sales. Besides Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Amazon (AMZN), Apple is the next contender for the title of the most valuable U.S. company crossing the symbolic trillion dollar mark.
Apple has been concerned over weak iPhone demand, especially in China, which is world’s biggest smartphone market, and saw a 17% drop in sales in the second fiscal quarter. However, the company’s services revenue beat estimates, making the third quarter look optimistic.
During Q1, Apple spent a record-setting $24 billion on buybacks, topping last year’s $70 billion, or around five times its own spending on research and development. This led brokerages to hike their price targets by $50 to $210.
As far as falling iPhone sales in China are concerned, the company is addressing the issue through price cuts, upgraded device-financing program, and is hopeful of benefitting from positive trade talks between U.S. and China.