美国国家公共电台 NPR Apple Becomes World's 1st Private-Sector Company Worth $1 Trillion

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

OK, Apple has become the first private sector¹ company to be worth a trillion dollars. That's after its share price hit an all-time high today. Reporter Ryan Kailath has the story now that he's worked out exactly how many zeroes are in 1 trillion.

RYAN KAILATH, BYLINE²: Twelve zeros, as it happens. You need four commas for a trillion dollars. Apple hit the figure when its share price jumped more than 8 percent this week. That's after the company reported strong quarterly earnings³ driven mostly by iPhone sales. The trillion and change is actually Apple's market capitalization. That's what you get when you multiply the number of shares by the share price. It's a historic moment, and the talking heads are talking.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: But yes, we officially hit it. We officially made history today. Apple did.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Apple just hit a trillion dollars in market value.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: For the first time in history, a company is worth $1 trillion.

KAILATH: So big deal - super meaningful, right?

KIM FORREST: Kind of unimportant.

KAILATH: Kim Forrest is a portfolio⁴ manager at Fort Pitt Capital, and she says the number's largely symbolic⁵. Apple doesn't unlock any new capitalist superpowers now that it's crossed the threshold. It just sounds cool. If anything, it means the company can borrow more money if it wants. Forrest likens it to, well, being rich.

FORREST: The bigger your house, the more you can borrow against it because the lender thinks that your house is going to be worth more tomorrow than it is today.

KAILATH: Some investors⁶ think this is actually a bad thing, a sign that Apple's stock is overvalued. Forrest says, maybe, but she adds Apple's got revenue on the books to back up its high valuation unlike some of its fancy tech sector peers. Some of those peers are likely to join Apple in the four-comma club. Amazon's close. But in the history books, you rarely learn who came in second. For NPR News, I'm Ryan Kailath.

1 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

4 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。

5 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会