Apple posts first close above $350, lifting market value to $5.1 trillion

AAPL rose $8.32, or 2.43%, on Monday, November 9, to a record close of $350.69, its first finish above $350 and above the previous record of $349.51 set on November 4. The gain lifted Apple's market value to about $5.096 trillion, keeping it the world's most valuable company ahead of NVDA at about $4.31 trillion and MSFT at $4.05 trillion. The move came on the S&P 500's best day since April, while Nvidia fell 4.27% in the same session. On Tuesday, November 10, Apple gave back 0.6% to close at $348.51.

The record has a fundamental backdrop. On November 2 Apple reported record September-quarter revenue of $114.5 billion, up 12%, with Greater China revenue up 21%. Shanghai's internet regulator has also registered Apple Intelligence for use on iPads and Macs in China, although 24/7 Wall St. notes that no source ties Monday's close to that one report. Over a longer horizon, a $1,000 investment in Apple ten years ago would now be worth $13,805, more than three times what the S&P 500 delivered.

The harder question is valuation. The shares now sit above the $340.77 average price target from 45 analysts and trade at about 39 times earnings. Management guided December-quarter revenue growth of 7% to 10%, but gross margin of 45% to 46%, below the September quarter's 47.9%, with memory costs the biggest pressure; Apple's memory purchase obligations rose $33 billion in a single quarter.

What to watch: whether analysts lift targets to catch up with the price, how memory pricing feeds into the margin guide, and whether the stock holds above $331.90, its low after the earnings report, which 24/7 Wall St. frames as the level that would signal the market rejecting the record.