Tim Cook Says Apple's $1 Trillion Value is a 'Significant Milestone' But 'Not the Most Important Measure of Success' in Employee Memo

cook heroApple today reached a major milestone and became the first publicly listed U.S. company to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization. Following the news, Apple CEO Tim Cook, who did not comment publicly on the occasion, sent out a memo to employees, which was shared by Buzzfeed.

In the memo, Cook said that while the valuation is a "significant milestone" that the company should be proud of, it's not the most important measure of Apple's success. He instead thanked employees and said that it's their hard work and refusal to settle for less that makes Apple great.

Team,

Today Apple passed a significant milestone. At our closing share price of $207.39, the stock market now values Apple at more than $1 trillion. While we have much to be proud of in this achievement, it's not the most important measure of our success. Financial returns are simply the result of Apple's innovation, putting our products and customers first, and always staying true to our values.

It's you, our team, that makes Apple great and our success is due to your hard work, dedication and passion. I am deeply humbled by what you do, and it's the privilege of a lifetime to work alongside you. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the late hours and extra trips, all the times you refuse to settle for anything less than excellence in our work together.

Let's take this moment to thank our customers, our suppliers and business partners, the Apple developer community, our coworkers and all those who came before us at this remarkable company.

Steve founded Apple on the belief that the power of human creativity can solve even the biggest challenges -- and that the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. In today's world, our mission is more important than ever. Our products not only create moments of surprise and delight, they empower people all around the globe to enrich their lives and the lives of others.

Just as Steve always did in moments like this, we should all look forward to Apple's bright future and the great work we'll do together.

Tim

With a closing stock price of $207.39 following a record breaking Q3 earnings report on Tuesday and a total of 4,829,926,000 outstanding shares as of July 20, Apple successfully beat Amazon, Microsoft, and Google parent company Alphabet to a $1 trillion valuation.

Apple is set to have yet another strong quarter with the 2018 iPhones, new iPad Pros, new Apple Watch models, and new Macs on the horizon.

Tags: AAPL, Tim Cook

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Top Rated Comments

omihek Avatar
94 months ago
God I can’t stand this guy. He is constantly drinking his own koolaid. He doesn’t do a damn thing either, he is nothing but a questionable businessman.

The engineers and staff on the floor are the ones who put that stock where it is today, whether it’s agreed upon or not with the value it has.

Steve Jobs is the last man to wear a hat that actually felt like he was making changes happen just like the guys on the floor.

Tim your a jokester and so am I for continuing to purchase your products. However I continue to do it as I remember the roots of the company.
Who would you like as the CEO of Apple? Someone like John Sculley perhaps? Like it or not, Tim has continued the success that Steve Jobs was known for creating within Apple. I'm not sure that just anyone could pull that off. And wasn't it Steve himself that chose Tim as his successor? If everyone on this forum really idolizes Steve as much as they claim to, maybe you should respect his last act as CEO, trusting Tim to take the helm.
Score: 82 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CreeptoLoser Avatar
94 months ago
Tim Cook is the best CEO in tech.

Look at who the rest have. Thiel is a delusional vampire. Musk is always three seconds away from a Twitter meltdown. Zuck, Jack and other social media CEOs have been data abusing Kremlin assets or creepto scam shills.

It's as if there is a trend towards dystopian sociopaths in tech and only Apple have maintained sane leadership, probably because their success has been building for many years while the others above have tried to get rich fast at the expense of security and society.
Score: 71 Votes (Like | Disagree)
code-m Avatar
94 months ago
Press time for the bean counter, kudos to you. Now update that aging Mac hardware, pathetic from a 1 Trillion dollar valuation company.
Score: 62 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Morod Avatar
94 months ago
Selling affordable products with current hardware would be even better.
Score: 57 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fate0311 Avatar
94 months ago
I really can’t stand this man.
Score: 54 Votes (Like | Disagree)
yadmonkey Avatar
94 months ago
Tim Cook has done a damn good job by most metrics. There were so many software bugs - even catastrophic ones - and hardware missteps under Steve. I think the people who rail on Cook largely weren't around for those years or are remembering them too kindly. There are many legitimate gripes about Apple these days and there were during Jobs' prime years too.

And all of the people saying Apple should aim for market share and more affordable products, you have the wrong Steve - that is Ballmer talk.
Score: 47 Votes (Like | Disagree)