Could Apple soon be bigger than Australia?
The tech giant's latest financial results show its market capitalisation – the value of all of its stocks – is worth roughly $980 billion.
By comparison, the size of Australia's economy is worth $1.58 trillion, by gross domestic product.
Apple's financial results were released on Tuesday and show its annual revenue could be approaching $300 billion by the end of the US financial year, while the size of Australia's Commonwealth government revenue is roughly $380 billion.
Apple executives say the company, which is the world's largest by market capitalisation, is on track to record its biggest ever annual profit, thanks partly to the Chinese middle-class.
Sales of iPhones in China have outpaced those in the US for the first time in recent months. Booming demand for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus has helped total revenue from greater China to surge 71 per cent to $US16.8 billion ($21.4 billion).
Those sales are projected to keep growing in the medium term, analysts say, while sales of the company's new Apple Watch are expected to pick up strongly.
"Given the strength of this iPhone cycle, expanded cash distribution, and entry into the first new product category in five years with Apple Watch, we believe Apple remains early in this transformational cycle," Brian White, an analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald, wrote in a note to investors.
For the March quarter, Apple's net profit jumped 33 per cent to $US13.6 billion, with quarterly revenue of $US58 billion.
In the same quarter last year, Apple's net profit was $US10.2 billion, with revenue of $US45.6 billion.
By contrast, Australia's revenue is going in reverse.
Figures from the Department of Finance revealed last week that Commonwealth revenue for the first nine months of 2014-15 was $644 million less than projected in December.
The multimillion-dollar deterioration was primarily because of lower than expected tax revenue, a direct consequence of weaker economic circumstances and falling iron ore and coal prices.
The news comes just days after Australia's Senate references committee on tax avoidance, chaired by Labor senator Sam Dastyari, said it would consider recalling the executives of Apple, Google and Microsoft, and BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, to face a second round of questions about their tax practices.
Apple Australia managing director Tony King told the first hearing that the Australian arm of the global company recently paid $80 million of income tax on revenue of more than $6 billion.
While its numbers are soaring, not all Apple products are having the stellar run of the iPhone 6.
Apple's financial results show sales of iPads continue to go backwards.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook has admitted that the company's new Macs, and iPhones with larger screens, are cannibalising iPad sales.
In the March quarter, iPad shipments dropped 23 per cent to 12.6 million, marking the fifth straight quarter of year-over-year declines.
Analysts had predicted a 17 per cent drop.
"We've never worried about that," Mr Cook said, indicating he remained positive about the device's future.
He noted investments in the product, potential corporate sales and that data in places such as China suggested the market wasn't saturated with iPad owners.
with Bloomberg
