Apple's market cap hit $3.53 trillion on Thursday after an American court permitted the firm to proceed with its lucrative search agreement with Google. The ruling boosted investors' confidence, pushing Apple stocks to $238.12 during closing trading, up some 3% since last week. The stock hit a high of $239.89 intraday and is currently trading close to its 52-week high of $260.09.
The ruling, handed down by Judge Amit Mehta, maintains an arrangement that sees Apple earn about $20 billion annually from Google for setting its search engine as the default choice on Safari. The judge stated that prohibition of such payments would hurt partners and consumers, although users can always switch to alternative search providers like Bing or DuckDuckGo.
Investor mood was also buoyed by Apple's quarterly results. Sales of iPhones were up 13.5%, Mac sales increased 14.8%, and Services were up 13.3%. The company has forecasted steady growth in the upcoming quarter, with margins at between 46% and 47%, as tariffs are poised to shave revenue by around $1.1 billion.
Apple currently trades on a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.20, with a dividend payment of 0.44% and a quarterly payment of $0.26 per share. The stock has risen around 17.5% over the last month, highlighting sustained investor faith in the firm's performance and future prospects.
