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BUSINESS Friday 7 august 2020
Apple shines in pandemic with $2 trillion value on horizon

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE Google's parent company
AP Business Writer — account for nearly 23% of
Early in 2020, Apple ap- the S&P 500's entire value.
peared to be caught in a Big Tech companies have
horrible bind. soared for years because
The initial spread of the they've been able to de-
novel coronavirus shut liver outsized growth even
down the factories in China when the global economy
that assemble its iPhones was slow. More recently,
and also closed its retail they've largely been able
stores in a country that to deliver even during a
ranks as the company's pandemic. Apple, for ex-
biggest market besides ample, said its earnings per
the U.S. Things looked even share rose 18% in the spring
bleaker in March after the from a year earlier. That
global pandemic shoved compares with an expect-
the U.S. economy into what ed drop of 34% for compa-
now looks to be its deepest nies across the S&P 500, ac-
downturn since the Great cording to FactSet.q
Depression nearly a cen-
tury ago.
Since then, Apple has man-
aged to shine amid the
gloom, putting it on the In this Tuesday, June 16, 2020 file photo, the sun is reflected on Apple's Fifth Avenue store in New
cusp of becoming the first York.
U.S. company to boast a Associated Press
market value of $2 trillion,
just two years after it be- after Apple released unex- products so much that they stock split that will make
came the first to reach $1 pectedly strong earnings continued to buy iPhones Apple's shares more afford-
trillion. With its stock already for an April-June quarter and other devices online. able to more investors also
up 50% this year, the only during which most U.S. con- The company also made a sparked a rally after it was
question among analysts is sumers were stuck at home decision several years ago announced last week.
whether Apple will pass the and the company's U.S. to focus on selling digital Apple has been at the van-
$2 trillion milestone before stores were closed most of services, which now include guard of a group of Big
the release of its next-gen- that time. music and video streaming Tech companies that are
eration iPhones in October. So how has Apple defied and warranties on top of increasingly taking over
It looks like "a performance the doomsayers? Facto- the commission it collects people's lives and the stock
for the ages," as Wedbush ries in China reopened by from an app store now un- market. Just five compa-
Securities analyst Daniel March and Apple's hugely der antitrust scrutiny. nies — Apple, Microsoft,
Ives described it last week loyal customer base trust its An upcoming four-for-one Amazon, Facebook and

Nintendo profit zooms as virus has

homebodies playing games

By YURI KAGEYAMA popular was "Mario Kart 8 devices, were also drawing Facebook, are reaping the
AP Business Writer Deluxe." more people. benefits of people turning
TOKYO (AP) — Nintendo "Ring Fit Adventure," which Although the coronavirus in droves to online activi-
Co.'s profit multiplied more has players exercising while outbreak has swamped ties.
than sixfold in April-June as jogging in place holding a economies in the worst Nintendo acknowledged
people stuck at home dur- ring that works as control- contraction since the COVID-19 had caused a
ing the pandemic turned ler, was also a hit. It has Great Depression, some shortage in parts to pro-
to playing video games. already sold 4 million units businesses like Nintendo duce the Switch, but such
The Japanese manufactur- since going on sale in Oc- are thriving. problems were being grad-
er of Pokemon and Super tober. Japanese and electronic ually fixed.
Mario games, as well as the Nintendo Switch sales, both and entertainment con- The company stuck to its
Switch console, reported of the handheld machines glomerate Sony Corp., previous forecast for a 200
Thursday a profit of 106.4 and software games, were which also has a game unit billion yen ($1.9 billion) prof-
billion yen ($1 billion) in the zooming amid the pan- with its PlayStation series, it for the fiscal year through
fiscal first quarter, up from demic. also reported positive re- March 2021. That's slightly
16.6 billion yen last year. Nintendo said various on- sults earlier this week. lower than the nearly 259
Quarterly sales at Kyoto- line games in its lineup, in- Other technology compa- billion yen Nintendo earned
based Nintendo jumped, cluding those for mobile nies, such as Apple and the previous fiscal year.q
doubling to 358 billion yen
($3.4 billion) on-year.
Especially popular was
"Animal Crossing: New Ho-
rizons," of which 10 million
were sold during the three
months, reaching cumula-
tive sales of 20 million. Also