Apple shares – which had been languishing in recent months –  hit an all-time record on Friday following the company’s latest quarterly report which showed big jumps in revenue and profit – and news that the world’s No. 1 investor Warren Buffett has bought a huge bundle of the shares – and may be seeking a boardroom seat.

His 75 million shares give Buffett a stake of around five percent in the tech giant. His input was welcomed by Apple CEO Tim Cook who said: “On a personal level, I’ve always greatly admired Warren and have always been grateful for his insight and advice.”

So a boardroom seat just might be possible . . .

For its first fiscal quarter, ended December Apple posted quarterly revenue of $88 billion, up 13pc, and net profit of US$20 billion – both of them records. That compared with net revenue of $78 billion and net profit of 17.9 billion in same quarter a year earlier.

Gross margin was between 38 and 38.5 percent – a figure many other ITC companies would die for.

“We’re thrilled to report the biggest quarter in Apple’s history, with broad-based growth that included the highest revenue ever from a new iPhone line-up,” said Cook – adroitly thumbing his nose at recent consistent reports that the latest iPhone models had flopped in the market.