The Apple of My Eye

With Apple’s stock recently touching $600 per share and posting gains in approach of 50% through 2012 alone, investors are beginning to wonder if the Cupertino based tech behemoth can keep its stock price soaring.

Just last week, after sitting on its $98 billion “war chest” for some time, Apple announced plans to issue a $2.65 dividend and to repurchase $10 billion worth of shares. By market capitalization, Apple has become the largest company in the world, and it has a lot to show for it.

Markedly, Apple’s record sales seem to continue indefinitely. Soon after its announcement earlier this year, the third generation of the iPad tablet sold more than 3,000,000 units over its first weekend available. Additionally, the firm had reported nearly doubled revenue of $46.3 billion for its holiday quarter. Record numbers like the previous are what keep both institutional and individual investors excited about Apple’s potential growth. Moreover, updates to the Mac, the Apple TV and the iPhone are due soon enough and should keep the company’s pipeline secure for the coming year. And, should they announce a new product, Apple’s history of innovation and design give reason to suspect a successful release.

So long as Apple keeps posting record numbers, investors will remain interested. As demand for their product’s continues to rise, Apple’s success has reason to continue. And if it falters, Apple still has its war chest to fall back on.

-Patrick Malanga