Apple's Strong Holiday Sales Boost Shares

Apple Inc. AAPL shares were trading higher Thursday after the company said its App Store customers spent $1.42 billion between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.

This is a 16% increase over last year. Apple customers spent $386 million on New Year’s Day alone, a 20% increase over last year and a new single-day record, according to Cupertino. 

“2019 was the biggest year for Services in Apple’s history. We introduced several exciting new experiences for our customers, all while setting the standard for user privacy and security,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, said in a Wednesday blog post.

“We begin the new decade with incredible momentum and gratitude to our customers who have shown such enthusiasm for all of our Services, and we continue to celebrate the work of the world’s best creators, storytellers, journalists and developers.” 

Reuters reported Thursday that Chinese iPhone sales were up more than 18% in December on a year-over-year basis, according to Chinese government data, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday later this month. 

Apple shares were trading up 1.12% at $306.60 in Thursday’s pre-market session. The stock has a 52-week range between $304.44 and $148.52.

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Photo courtesy of Apple.