Apple shares break through 500-dollar barrier

Feb 13, 2012, 17:12 GMT

San Francisco - Shares of Apple crossed the 500-dollar barrier for the first time Monday, following a two-week gain sparked by record profits and revenues.

The company's valuation of around 460 billion dollars make it worth more than the combined value of rivals Google and Microsoft.

But stock analysts say the company is still undervalued compared to the size of its earnings.

Apple has surpassed Exxon-Mobil as the most valuable company on US stock markets. The only companies ever to have crossed the 500-billion-dollar mark are Microsoft, Cisco, General Electric and Exxon-Mobil, which each briefly passed that threshold in stock run-ups over the last 15 years.

Apple's stock passed the 400 dollar level only four months ago and have risen over 40 per cent in the past year.

According to its latest earnings report, Apple made a record profit of 13 billion dollars in the fourth quarter of 2011, when it sold 37 million iPhones, 15 million iPads and 5 million Macs.

Read more about Apple