SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Apple's resurgent stock may have as much to do with financial engineering as the company's technological wizardry.
Monday marked Apple's first stock split in nine years, a move designed to make it more affordable to buy shares of the iPhone and iPad maker.
The maneuver provided a boost even before it was completed. Since the split was announced in late April, Apple's stock has climbed 25 percent, creating more than $100 billion in shareholder wealth while the Standard & Poor's 500 edged up just 4 percent.
Other factors contributed to the Apple rally: The company raised its quarterly dividend, committed an additional $30 billion to buying back its stock, struck a $3 billion deal to buy headphone maker Beats Electronics and previewed its latest software for iPhones, iPads and Mac computers.
But the stock split helped renew investor interest in Apple Inc., already the world's most valuable company.
Apple's stock rose $1.48 cents, or nearly 2 percent, to $93.77 on Monday. That's after closing at $645.57 on Friday. The difference reflects Apple's 7-for-1 stock split, which gave every Apple stockholder six additional shares for every share they owned. Before the split, the all-time high for Apple's stock stood at $705.07. Apple went public in December 1980 at a split-adjusted 39 cents per share.