Apple may have to pay hundreds of millions more in US patent dispute

Apple concluded the trading session on Wednesday, October 14th, with a market capitalization of $5.005 trillion, which is equivalent to approximately R$ 25.2 trillion in direct conversion. This was the first time the iPhone manufacturer finished a session above this mark, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The company became only the second to reach this level, following Nvidia. On that day, Apple's shares rose by 0.5% and reached a new closing record. Although Apple's market cap had surpassed this goal six times during trading, it failed to maintain it until the end of the period. This week's result stands out for consolidating the brand at the market close.

Nvidia had reached this level a year ago, driven by the growing demand for its components intended for artificial intelligence. It is important to note that market capitalization is determined by multiplying the stock price by the number of outstanding shares, which causes this indicator to follow stock fluctuations and can change every session.

This Apple record occurs amid expectations regarding new devices and a change in leadership. John Ternus assumed the position of Apple CEO on September 1st, succeeding Tim Cook, who began serving as executive chairman of the board after 15 years leading the company.

Ternus previously held the position of Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering at Apple and contributed to the development of products such as AirPods, Macs, and iPhones before taking on the leadership role. According to the WSJ, Apple's market value grew 13 times during the period Cook was in charge, a time that included the expansion of the services division, the launch of the Apple Watch and AirPods, as well as share buyback programs and dividend distributions.

The stock appreciation also occurs amidst cost pressures. According to the American newspaper, the increase in prices for memory and storage chips impacted the iPhone, Mac, and iPad models. In response, Apple implemented price adjustments, including for older iPhone versions, which typically have more accessible values.

Wamsi Mohan, an analyst at Bank of America, speculates that consumers will remain willing to pay more for devices, which would help sustain total profit despite margin pressure. Mohan also points to the foldable iPhone Duo and the new Siri as potential factors that could encourage device replacement. The revamped virtual assistant, developed in collaboration with Google, was launched with iOS 27 in September, after several postponements.