A single share of Apple stock now costs more than an iPad

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The “Apple is worth more than” meme has gotten plenty of play over the past year, but a new measure of Apple’s success emerged on Monday that is as simple as it is monumental: a single share of Apple stock now costs more than an iPad. As of the open of the market on Monday, Apple’s stock rose just above $499 — the entry-level price of Apple’s iPad 2 — undoubtedly on its way to $500 and beyond. The Cupertino-based firm that once teetered on the brink of bankruptcy and was saved in part by a $150 million investment from Microsoft is now worth more than Microsoft and Google combined. Read on for more.<span id="more-126460"></span>

Apple shares exploded last month after the company reported earnings for its first fiscal quarter. The firm’s $13.06 billion in profit was <a href="http://www.bgr.com/2012/01/24/disappointing-iphone-4s-leads-apple-to-most-profitable-quarter-in-tech-history/">the most ever recorded in a single quarter by a technology company</a>, and the second most ever recorded by any company in the United States.

Apple now has more than $100 billion in cash — the company reported that the total value of its cash and marketable securities reached $97.6 billion at the end of the first fiscal quarter — and <a href="http://www.bgr.com/2012/02/09/ipad-3-announcement-coming-in-march/">it is about to unveil a brand new version of its popular iPad tablet</a>, the Retina Display-equipped iPad 3. Apple is then expected to enter brand new territory for the firm when it <a href="http://www.bgr.com/2012/02/07/apples-siri-enabled-itv-already-being-tested-by-potential-partners-report-claims/">launches the “iTV” this summer</a>, and <a href="http://www.bgr.com/2011/12/27/apple-to-launch-completely-redesigned-iphone-in-fall-2012/">a completely redesigned iPhone will likely follow this fall</a>.

No company stays on top forever, but things aren’t expected to slow down any time soon for Apple. In fact, those <a href="http://www.bgr.com/2011/10/12/apple-may-launch-ipad-mini-in-early-2012-to-fend-off-kindle-fire/">sky-high price targets</a> some scoffed at last year really aren’t looking so outlandish anymore. OK, <a href="http://www.bgr.com/2011/05/03/apple-may-become-the-first-1-trillion-company-video/">maybe a few of them still are</a>.

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Via BRG - Boy Genius Report