The most recent shares outstanding figure we have for Apple is 15,334,082,000 as of April 19, 2024. (page 1 of Apple's most recently filed 10Q)

Yes, it is confusing how many different numbers there are for one quarter.

I made the rookie mistake of looking at 'Shares used in computing earnings per share: Basic 15,405,856... Diluted 15,464,709" (numbers quoted in thousands). The trouble is, that is actually the average number of shares in a quarter, and for a company continually buying back shares, it is less than at the END of the quarter.

On p.3 of the 10Q, the balance sheet, they give the number at the end of the quarter (Q2, the quarter ending March 31st) which was 15,337,686.

As you say, p.1 of the same report actually gives the number when the March 31st report was finalized (April 19), which is indeed 15,334,082,000 (rounded to the nearest thousand). The only trouble with that number is it is the number of "shares of common stock were issued and outstanding as of April 19, 2024." That means it does not include the number of shares that are involved in stock option (the diluted share count.)

Anyways, all these numbers are close enough for our purposes of estimating the huge jump in market cap based on the company announcing it is getting a little more focused on AI in its OS.

dtb