Apple Is Pacing To Become The Country’s First $1 Trillion Company

Apple is one step closer to becoming the first U.S. company worth more a $1 trillion. On Tuesday, the tech giant ended its trading day with a market cap of $956.48 billion after posting strong results for the fiscal third quarter, which ended June 30.

According to a press release, Apple posted quarterly revenue of $53.3 billion, an increase of 17 percent compared to a year ago, and quarterly earnings per share of $2.34, are up 40 percent. Meanwhile, international sales accounted for 60 percent of the quarter’s revenue. Apple CEO Tim Cook credits an increase of sales of the “iPhone, Services, and Wearables” as drivers of the third quarter results.

“We’re thrilled to report Apple’s best June quarter ever, and our fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in the release. “Our Q3 results were driven by continued strong sales of iPhone, Services, and Wearables, and we are very excited about the products and services in our pipeline.”

“Our strong business performance drove revenue growth in each of our geographic segments, net income of $11.5 billion, and operating cash flow of $14.5 billion,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO. “We returned almost $25 billion to investors through our capital return program during the quarter, including $20 billion in share repurchases.”

Cook also cited during an earnings call on Tuesday that Apple Music has grown by “50% on a year-over-year basis,” adding the company now has more than 300 million users who pay for subscriptions of apps via Apple’s App Store.