While the iPhone (News - Alert) 5's release is still somewhat short on specifics, it hasn't stopped the market from placing big bets on both it and Apple's future as a whole. In fact, the iPhone 5 has reportedly put so much optimism in Apple's (News - Alert) future, its market value is now the highest that it's ever been...and higher than any other company has ever seen.
Recent Apple trading has pushed the market value of Apple shares beyond the high water mark set by Microsoft (News - Alert) during its zenith back during the dot-com era, all because of the potential for impressive sales offered by the iPhone.
Shares of Apple closed at $665.15 at their close yesterday, giving Apple a total market value of $623 billion. This surpassed Microsoft's record market value of $616.3 billion on December 27 1999, and early trading indicated it may very well pass its own newly-established record.
Apple image via Shutterstock.
While many expect a launch event for September 12, what many also anticipate is a wildly-revamped version of the iPhone. Analysts predict what "could be the most impactful product upgrade in Apple's history," with analysts at FBR Capital Markets expecting lifetime sales of over 250 million units.
Indeed, previous Apple launches have been blockbuster affairs, with plenty of sales, shortages and buzz to go around. Since about 70 percent of Apple's profit reportedly comes from the iPhone, a new model emerging means extra profit, to which stock buyers are in turn flocking at an unprecedented rate.
Moreover, this isn't even likely to be the only hardware release from Apple this year. Users are still expecting new installments of the iPad to show up, specifically the long-awaited iPad Mini, which poses a significant threat to the Amazon Kindle Fire and the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablets.
All this means big things for Apple, and the market clearly recognizes Apple's ongoing success. Though $623.5 billion in 2012 dollars admittedly doesn't go so far as $616.3 billion did back in December of 1999 (inflation over the last 12 years has done a number on market valuations and makes the Apple / Microsoft comparison somewhat unfair), it's still a major achievement for Apple, and with two major launches to go this year, one that portends big things to come.