While U.S. stocks had their best day in almost two weeks, it was an ever better day for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). On Thursday, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price closed at $636.34–an all-time high. This passes its previous all-time $636.23 closing high set on April 9.
On the following day, April 10, the stock reached an intraday high of $644 and hit a market capitalization of $600 billion, but then retreated.
In addition to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) reaching its all-time high closing price on Thursday, it was also the first day that Apple’s investors received a $2.65 per share dividend. The news of the payable dividend came on July 24; this represents the first dividend the company has ever paid since 17 years.
It’s a good time to hold Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock, and it’s been a good year for the company.
For the year, Apple’s stock price has risen almost 60 percent, reported Macrumors.com, and it has outperformed the NASDAQ more than 3 to 1 and 6 to 1 against the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
So what is making Apple’s investors bullish? New products of course, namely the September launch of the iPhone 5 and a less expensive and smaller iPad mini.
But as we know, things usually happen in threes, Apple had one more story to share with the markets today. On Thursday morning, stories began coming out about the company’s foray into live TV.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is supposedly in talks with some of the large U.S. cable companies, to work together on a product that will have live TV and additional content. By utilizing an Apple-created unit,customers could access a group of TV channels, rather than “renting” a set-top box from cable companies for a monthly fee, said an unnamed source to Bloomberg.
In addition, a deal has supposedly not be done, but it’s a work in progress.
Back in July, Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Bewkes, said he would be speaking with Apple’s CEO about Apple TV. Here’s one potential partner for Apple, and it could be modeled on the deal that Apple had initially reached with AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) for thethe iPhone, noted Bewkes.
Apple has faced challenges with cable companies, including Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) that spend loads of money to create a new user interface for their own set-top boxes leased to customers. Cable companies could be apprehensive to give Apple control similar to what record labels and telephone carriers have done.
Should Apple reach an agreement with cable company and proceed to the TV arena, it will finally end years of talk, and a $99 Apple TV product that doesn’t have the functionality of live network broadcasting.
Somehow I think Apple will make this happen.
