Apple valuation nears half a trillion dollars

Entertainment giant Apple is edging closer to an unprecedented $500 billion valuation as its shares breach the $500 dollar mark for the first time.

Apple stock is currently trading at $503 at the time of going to press, marking the first time the company has surpassed the half-thousand-dollar threshold. As of Monday its valuation was calculated at $469 billion.

Five years ago Apple was trading at $53 dollars per share, but the trailblazing success of the iPad, iPhone Mac, iPod and App Store has rocketed shares skywards.

The company, now valued the biggest in the world, is worth more than Google, Goldman Sachs, General Motors, Ford, Starbucks and Boeing combined.
Strong increases in iPhone, iPad and Mac sales helped Apple generate record sales and profit for the final three months of 2011.

The show-stopping success comes amid rumours that Apple will reveal its next device, the iPad 3, at a San Francisco press conference in March.