Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Computer Inc.'s bet on founder and two-time Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs is about to pay off. For him.

Jobs exchanged worthless options on a split-adjusted 55 million shares for 10 million shares of restricted stock three years ago. The shares, the 50-year-old's entire stake in Apple, vest in March. Right now, they are valued at $808.6 million.

``It's a bargain,'' said Chuck Jones, who helps manage $16 billion for Atlantic Trust Stein Roe in San Francisco, including Apple shares. ``I'd gladly pay him another $808.6 million to have him create another $65 billion in market cap.''

Already a billionaire from holdings in animation studio Pixar, Jobs is reaping rewards from a comeback at Apple, whose share price has surged almost 11-fold since the option switch. Yesterday, he said Apple's sales reached $5.7 billion last quarter, outstripping the company's $4.7 billion prediction as demand soared for iPod music players and Macintosh computers.

Shares of the Cupertino, California-based company rose $4.81 to $80.86 yesterday in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading, raising its market value to $68.1 billion. The stock more than doubled last year, outperforming even search engine Google Inc., and tripled in 2004.

``You can credit Jobs with a revolution in digital media,'' said James Grossman, a fund manager at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans in Appleton, Wisconsin. The firm owns 1.2 million Apple shares and manages $63 billion.

Pacesetter

Purchases of iPods, the handheld music players that were the cornerstone of Jobs's revival effort, tripled to 14 million last quarter, Jobs said yesterday at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco. The company has sold more than 850 million songs through its iTunes service and 8 million videos since Jobs announced the video iPod in October.

Interest in iPods revived consumer demand for the company's line of more-profitable Macintosh computers. Jobs, clad in his trademark black turtleneck and jeans, yesterday unveiled Mac models with Intel Corp. chips six months ahead of schedule.

Apple expects all Macs to include Santa Clara, California- based Intel's processors by the end of 2006, instead of by the end of 2007 as announced last June.

Jobs's company also is selling more products through 135 retail stores, which had more than 26 million visitors during the holidays, he said. Apple is the top-seller of digital music players in the U.S., with the iPod accounting for 69 percent of devices sold between January and November, according to NPD Group Inc. in Port Washington, New York.

Different Picture

``Apple has become the pacesetter for the consumer computer industry,'' said Roger Kay, president of researcher Endpoint Technologies Associates in Wayland, Massachusetts.

The picture was much different when Jobs surrendered his options in March 2003. The shares had dropped 80 percent in the preceding three years amid a worldwide economic slowdown that crimped computer purchases. In return, Apple's board granted him 5 million shares, and the stock closed that day at $14.91.

Jobs, who had returned in 1997 to the company he co-founded after Apple bought his Next Inc. for $400 million, gave up his options. He began laying the groundwork for the turnaround with the curvy, candy-colored iMac in May 1998.

To follow up, Jobs brought out designs for the iMac that transformed the machine into a flat-panel screen that floated above a white base. The current generation of Macs has the entire computer built into a flat screen display.

The spark came from iPod, which debuted in October 2001. Including the latest figures from the holiday season released yesterday, Apple has sold 42.2 million.

Pixar Stake

Apple had a 2-for-1 stock split in February 2005 that turned Jobs's 5 million shares into 10 million. He has options on 120,000 more shares, granted in his capacity as an Apple director. The options entitle him to buy stock at $18.65 a share, according to a government filing.

Jobs received $1 in salary and no bonus for the past three fiscal years, according to the company's last annual report.

Jobs, a founder of Pixar, has been that company's CEO since 1986 and chairman since 1991. He held 60 million shares, or 50.1 percent of the outstanding stock, as of June 20, 2005, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

His stake in the Emeryville, California-based company, whose movies include ``Finding Nemo'' and ``The Incredibles'' was valued at $3.37 billion at yesterday's closing price of $56.23. They have increased 20 percent or more in each of the past five years.

`Premium Product'

There's little to suggest that Jobs's stake in Apple will lose value before his restricted shares vest, based on analysts' view of the company. Fourteen analysts suggest buying the stock, 11 recommend holding shares and none has a ``sell'' rating.

The stock's value is tied to Jobs's ability to distinguish Apple from bigger computer makers by offering unique devices such as the iPod, said Robbert Van Batenburg, head of research at Louis Capital Markets in New York.

``Apple has separated itself from the group by offering a premium product,'' Van Batenburg said. ``It should command a premium.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Jason Kelly in Atlanta at jkelly14@bloomberg.net; Connie Guglielmo in San Francisco at cguglielmo1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 11, 2006 03:00 EST