As the NASDAQ opened on Tuesday morning, Apple's stock price at the opening bell drove its market capitalization above historical highs, with $800 billion in sight and possibly reachable before the quarterly earnings report.
Apple's market capitalization broke $700 billion . To reach $800 billion, the stock price needs to climb to $149.42 before trading stops on the stock prior to Apple's earnings announcement.
To reach $149.92, the stock only needs a $2.38 rise from Tuesday's opening price of $147.54. At 11:00 a.m. eastern time, the stock sits at around $148.
The math is likely to change after the announcement, after Apple announces how many shares it has bought back on the quarter. Apple has on stock buybacks since initiating its capital return program in 2013.
Apple shares outstanding Q1 2017. Source: YCharts.com
Wall Street is predicting Apple's revenue for the quarter to be up year-over-year to $53.1 billion, with a gross margin of 38.7 percent. The company is expected to edge out last year's iPhone sales numbers, selling 52.2 million iPhones.
Apple sold a record in the first quarter of Apple's 2017 fiscal year that ended in December, but still saw on 7 Plus shipments -- which could serve to boost the March quarter's sales numbers.