(Reuters) - Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook said on Thursday that the iPhone maker’s $1 trillion market capitalization was “not the most important measure” of the company’s success but was instead a result of its focus on its products, customers and company values.
An electronic screen displays the Apple Inc. logo on the exterior of the Nasdaq Market Site following the close of the day's trading session in New York City, New York, U.S., August 2, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar
In a memo to Apple’s more than 120,000 employees that was seen by Reuters, Cook called the valuation a “significant milestone” that gave the company “much to be proud of.” But he said it should not be the Cupertino, California, company’s focus.
“Financial returns are simply the result of Apple’s innovation, putting our products and customers first, and always staying true to our values,” Cook said in the memo.
With a closing price of $207.39 on Thursday, Apple became the first publicly listed U.S. company to ever reach $1 trillion in market capitalization. Apple’s stock market value is greater than the combined capitalization of Exxon Mobil, Procter & Gamble and AT&T. It now accounts for 4 percent of the S&P 500.
Cook had not previously publicly commented on the company’s $1 trillion valuation.
Apple was founded in the late 1970s by Steve Jobs and went public in 1980 after helping usher in the era of the personal computer. One of three founders, Jobs was driven out of Apple in the mid-1980s, only to return a decade later and rescue the
