After weeks of selling, Apple (AAPL -0.35%) saw an outsized rally today which left the company's shares up 7.21%. That kind of jump is rare for a company of Apple's size, but it's not out of ordinary for the company itself.
Today was Apple's second largest gain year-to-date, but "only" its twentieth largest move across the past decade.
| Date | Share Price Change |
|---|---|
| Oct. 13, 2008 | 13.90% |
| Oct. 14, 2004 | 13.16% |
| Nov. 24, 2008 | 12.56% |
| July 20, 2006 | 11.83% |
| May 5, 2003 | 11.35% |
| July 15, 2004 | 11.33% |
| Nov. 22, 2004 | 11.20% |
| Nov. 13, 2007 | 10.54% |
| April 15, 2004 | 9.98% |
| April 5, 2006 | 9.87% |
| Oct. 13, 2005 | 9.12% |
| Oct. 10, 2008 | 9.08% |
| April 25, 2012 | 8.87% |
| May 6, 2003 | 8.76% |
| Oct. 28, 2008 | 8.49% |
| Jan. 9, 2007 | 8.31% |
| Sept. 30, 2008 | 7.98% |
| May 10, 2010 | 7.69% |
| Jan. 7, 2005 | 7.28% |
| Oct. 19, 2012 | 7.21% |
Source: Yahoo! Finance
There was little news surrounding Apple itself to explain the company's large share price gains today. Instead, Apple was moving with a general market surge and seeing an outsized bounce after weeks of share price declines. That's not an uncommon reason for days that Apple sees its largest moves.
Looking back to 2008 when markets were seeing extreme volatility as banks collapsed and governments raced to prop up markets, Apple saw five days with larger movements in a two-month span between the end of September and late November. That span included Apple's biggest one-day move of the last decade, when it soared 13.9% on Oct. 13, 2008. The incredible part of that day? The S&P 500 itself saw an 11.6% jump that day!
Of course, Apple wasn't quite the same company in terms of market value in 2008 that it is today. When it jumped 13.9% on Oct. 13, 2008 the company's value increased about $12 billion in one day. Today's 7.21% gain increased Apple's value by just under $36 billion. Looking at Apple's largest ever one-day move in terms of market value gains, the company's 8.87% surge on April 25 of this year led to over $46 billion being added to the company's market cap in a day. However, on that day Apple was moving in reaction to earnings, rather than broader market forces.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Apple's biggest one-day loss in the past decade was Sept. 29, 2008. On that day the company saw its shares decline 17.9%. They went on to rebound the next day, soaring 8%.
The moral of the story? No one has a crystal ball to tell how markets will move across the next month as the fiscal cliff drama plays out. However, in times of heavy market volatility, even a massive company like Apple can see some pretty heavy swings.
