Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has surged to a valuation of $935 billion, with analysts estimating that the company will hit the $1 trillion threshold if they fulfill their trade estimates within Q4.
Q3 sales were above expected, with iPhone revenues up 32% on the same period last year. overall sales up 17% to $53.3 billion and sales of home wares such as the Apple TV and HomePod Speaker up 37% on-year.
In the meantime, Huawei have knocked Apple off of the number two spot in the global mobile phone market, with Samsung occupying the top spot. The news comes after positive feedback from Asia on the iPhone X, but unfortunately for Apple, Chinese tech firm Huawei were able to most effectively capture the growing mobile phone market in their home country.
“Apple is not in a very comfortable position,” said Nicole Peng, mobility analyst for Canalys. “Consumers have to make a hard choice between Apple and its peers in China.”
Despite the news, Apple shares have rallied 4.92% since trading began, up $9.37 to $199.66 – a far-cry from the $11 share price when the iPhone was released in 2007.
Apple CEO Tim Cook does not appear to be phased by the news on Huawei, which is perhaps not surprising as trade conflicts with the US have meant that the Chinese firm have been forced to capitalise on their domestic market.
With Chinese figures not knocking Apple investor confidence, an optimistic message of consensus rings around the Apple camp as they look ahead to the fourth quarter:
“Growth was strong all around the world,” said Apple Finance Chief, Luca Maestri.
Apple have published optimistic sales targets, ahead of analyst expectations for Q4. They will look to capitalise on their pre-existing strengths and build on their relatively recent successes such as Apple Pay and Apple Music, as well as hoping to branch out into software and hardware for other areas of technology.