Apple stock soars to $700 as iPhone 5 shatters order record
18 Sep 2012
Apple Inc booked record orders for over two million iPhone 5 in the first 24 hours, more than double its previous 1 million orders for the iPhone 4S for the same period in October last year.
The massive booking orders sent Apple's stock past $700 a share for the first time in after-hours trading on Monday and closed at $699.78, making it the world's most valuable company worth nearly $656 billion.
Apple said that the demand for the iPhone 5 has exceeded the initial supply, and although the majority of pre-orders will be delivered by the weekend, some will be delayed until October.
"The customer response to iPhone 5 has been phenomenal," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing.
In October 2011, the Cupertino, California-based company booked 1 million orders for the iPhone 4S in the first 24 hours, which was 400,000 handsets more than Apple's previous one-day record of 600,000 for the iPhone 4.
The iPhone 5, which features a bigger 4 inch screen and faster chip, is also thinner and weighs less than previous models. It operates on LTE cellular networks and has updated software (See: Apple unveils world's thinnest smartphone iPhone5).
