Apple on cusp of trillion-dollar value

Apple is in a race with Amazon and Google to be the first trillion-dollar company. Photo / Getty Images

Apple is on the cusp of becoming the world's first trillion-dollar company after smashing Wall Street forecasts with a leap in profits.

The US tech giant unveiled quarterly results revealing that iPhone sales had jumped to 41.3 million, a slight increase on last year.

However, total iPhone revenues increased significantly, suggesting the company has lured its customers into paying more for its devices even in a slowing smartphone market, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The news sent shares climbing in after-hours trading to a record high that sent Apple within touching distance of reaching a one trillion dollar market capitalisation.

The company's value had surpassed US$960 billion ($1.4 trillion) before the results were released, and shares climbed almost 4 per cent in late trading following the figures.

Apple's financial third quarter is traditionally quiet, coming in the slow summer months before the company's hotly-anticipated refresh of the iPhone, the device that makes up the lion's share of its revenues.

However, this year the period was seen as a crucial test of the staying power of the iPhone X model, last year's overhauled device that costs over $1000.

Apple said the average selling price of the iPhone had risen to more than US$700 in the quarter, showing that each customer is paying more for the company's gadgets

Profits hit US$11.5b, up from US$8.7b a year ago, while total sales climbed 17 per cent to US$53.3b, due to increasing revenues from the iPhone's App Store and sales of peripherals such as the Apple Watch and the company's headphones.

Apple's software and services division, which includes the App Store as well as the company's music streaming service and mobile payment software, has become its growth powerhouse as smartphone sales flatline, and is now its second most-lucrative business unit after the iPhone itself.

The division grew revenues by 31 per cent in the quarter, with the success of apps such as the video game Fortnite believed to have contributed to the increase.

Sales of the iPad tablet grew slightly to 11.6m while those of its Mac computers dropped to 3.7m.

The company's share price rise came in the face of a stock market bloodbath for Silicon Valley companies. Facebook, Twitter and Netflix have all suffered heavy declines in their share prices in the last two weeks after disappointing results that have threatened to put an end to the astonishing tech boom of the last few years.

All eyes are now on Apple's new iPhones, which are due to be unveiled in the first half of September. Supply chain leaks suggest the company is preparing to launch a bigger-screen version of the iPhone X as well as a cheaper model.

The company's chief executive Tim Cook used the event to attack proposed US tariffs on Chinese imports, which may hit Apple products, and suggested they would lead to higher prices.

"Our view on tariffs is that they show up as a tax on the consumer and wind up resulting in lower economic growth," he said.

Cook also hinted that the company was preparing a major expansion of its own internet TV shows, something that has long been awaited by investors.

"We're not really ready to share all the details of it yet, but I couldn't be more excited about what's going on there," he said.