Apple's ride to $1 trillion: The magic number that gets it there

Customers walk past an Apple logo inside of an Apple store at Grand Central Station in New York, U.S., August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc updated its latest share count on Wednesday, putting the magic stock price at $207.04 that would make the iPhone maker the first publicly listed U.S. company valued at $1 trillion.

Apple said in a quarterly filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, that its share count was 4,829,926,000 on July 20, less than the 4,842,917,000 it reported on Tuesday for the end of the June quarter.

Customers walk past an Apple logo inside of an Apple store at Grand Central Station in New York, U.S., August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Apple's stock rose 5.89 percent to a record-high close of $201.50 on Wednesday following the company's better-than-expected quarterly results.

That would put Apple's stock market value at $973 billion, based on its newly disclosed number of shares.

With a mountain of overseas cash freed up by last year's sweeping U.S. corporate tax cuts, Apple bought back a record $43 billion of its own shares in the first six months of 2018, and its report to the SEC suggested it has continued that program in recent weeks.

Customers use computers inside of an Apple store at Grand Central Station in New York, U.S., August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

A lower share count means Apple's stock must reach a higher price to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

A man and young girl laugh as they look at new Apple iPhones inside of an Apple store at Grand Central Station in New York, U.S., August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Customers look at Apple Watches inside of an Apple store at Grand Central Station in New York, U.S., August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

A man walks past an Apple logo as he arrives at an Apple store at Grand Central Station in New York, U.S., August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

A man holds an Apple iPhone as he walks on a street in New York, U.S., August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Two women use their Apple iPhones to take photographs in New York, U.S., August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Commuters use their mobile phones as they ride a subway train in New York, U.S., August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

A woman holds an Apple iPhone as she walks on a street in New York, U.S., August 1, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson