Following a boost in Chinese sales as Apple works hard to cozy up to the communist country, Apple’s stock price has reached an all-time high.
CNBC reports that following Apple CEO Tim Cook’s work to cozy up to China and a boost in Chinese sales has resulted in Apple’s stock price reaching an all-time high. The company’s sales in China rose more than 18 percent last month according to CNBC’s calculations, which used data from a government think tank called the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.
Apple’s stock price rose by more than 2 percent this week following the news of its increased sales in communist China, reaching an all-time high of $309.63 at Thursday’s market close. Sales of Apple iPhones in China reached 3.2 million through December, up from 2.7 million units shipped in December of 2018.
In the first quarter of 2019, Apple reported revenue from China of $13.17 billion, down $5 billion from 2018. Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC in an interview in January 2019: “If you look at our results, our shortfall is over 100 percent from iPhone and it’s primarily in greater China. It’s clear that the economy began to slow there for the second half and what I believe to be the case is the trade tensions between the United States and China put additional pressure on their economy.”
Breitbart News reported in October 2019 that Apple investors praised Cook for his handling of Chinese trade relations. It was reported at the time that Cook had developed a relationship with President Donald Trump and advocated Apple’s views on tariffs and U.S. manufacturing to the President. Cook also managed to maintain strong relations with Chinese officials, which prevented Apple from becoming a target of retaliation following the U.S. government’s move to cut Huawei Technologies out of the American market. Cook was also named the chairman of a top Chinese business school around that time.
Hal Eddins, chief economist for Capital Investment Companies, an Apple shareholder, commented on Cook’s performance as CEO stating: “Who would have thought he would have been able to thread that needle and deal with the president? It’s a show of an incredible amount of nuance and emotional intelligence to do what’s best for the company.”
Tom Plumb, founder of Wisconsin Capital Management, another Apple shareholder, stated: “A year ago, we were talking about the price pushback in China, and (Apple) contended they were overcoming that. Now the real question is whether you’re seeing a cultural shift that would bode poorly for Apple.”
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives discussed Apple’s latest stock price in a note on Thursday stating: “This news only furthers our positive bullish thesis on Apple heading into 2020 given our recent positive Asia checks, 5G technology/upgrades around the corner, and our belief that China will continue this positive upward trajectory with renewed growth and share gains on the heels of an iPhone 11 product cycle which the skeptics continue to underestimate.” Wedbush has an outperform rating and a 12-month price target of $350 on Apple stock.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com
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