Apple Share Price Tops $500, Officially Cheaper to Buy an iPad

Shares of Apple rose to above $500 for the first time ever on Monday, continuing a rally that began over two weeks ago when the Cupertino outfit reported record quarterly revenue of $46.33 billion and record quarterly net profit of $13.06 billion, or $13.87 per diluted share. Those and other positive figures weren't lost on investors, who continue to drive up the price of Apple stock.

The price per share has gone up 11 out of 14 days since Apple announced its quarterly results, and it's not officially cheaper to buy an iPad 2 tablet (16GB, Wi-Fi) than it is to own a single share of the company who builds it (technically, Foxconn builds the iPad, but you get the drift).


What's so remarkable about all this is that Apple's doing it amid controversies surrounding iDevice manufacturing facilities in China where Foxconn has come under increasing fire for poor working conditions, as well as an iPhone 4S launch instead of introducing the iPhone 5 like many were hoping for. None of it matters -- consumers continue to gobble up iPads and iPhones, one of which (iPad) is due for a refresh within the next couple of months.