Apple shares close at record high

The new high draws a line under a turbulent few years for the iPad and iPhone maker, which saw its share price drop to just over $55 last year amid concerns that the company had lost some its innovative edge when Steve Jobs, the company’s co-founder, died in 2011.

Mr Cook has amassed a team of top-flight executives from design backgrounds, including former Burberry chief executive Angela Ahrendts, and forged closer ties with China Mobile, the biggest telecoms operator in China – one of the fastest growing technology markets.

Apple has also stoked sales by launching different versions of its gadgets, including a more affordable, brightly coloured iPhone and a smaller edition of its tablet, the iPad mini. Next month, it is expected to unveil a larger iPhone , stoking demand afresh and helping the company to tap into the Asian market.

The company’s shares have also been buoyed by Apple's decision to return a record amount of cash to shareholders.

The company said in April that it would hand $130bn to shareholders by the end of next year, marking one of the biggest investor windfalls in history. The appetite for Apple’s shares was also helped by a seven-for-one stock split in June, which makes it much easier for smaller investors to take bets on the future of the California business, without having to make huge outlays.

more