Apple shareholders drove the company’s stock price beyond $1 trillion a little over three years ago, making it the world’s most valuable tech business. Then, two years later, Apple’s stock skyrocketed to the point where the company’s market capitalization surpassed $2 trillion. It’s now topped $3 trillion for the first time.
Apple stock hit $182.86 per share about 10:45 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 3, valuing the company at over $3 trillion when multiplied by the 16.4 billion shares outstanding. That is more than the combined value of AT&T, Boeing, Coca-Cola, Comcast, Disney, Exxon Mobil, Ford, Goldman Sachs, IBM, McDonald’s, Morgan Stanley, Netflix, Nike, and Walmart. During the pandemic, Apple has struggled to keep up with near-record demand for its smartphones, so the achievement is primarily symbolic.
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The computer giant told investors in October that it was dealing with supply chain interruptions as a result of the coronavirus epidemic, which cost the company up to $6 billion in lost revenue at the time. On a conference call with analysts at the time, Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “We are confident about the future, especially as we see high demand for new products.”
Apple’s current market capitalization is only another reminder of the company’s improbable transformation from near-bankruptcy in 1997 to one of the world’s most powerful corporations. The corporation achieved this in part by developing mass-market goods including as the iPod music player, iPhone, and iPad, all of which went on to become market leaders in their respective markets.
Cook has been the CEO of Apple for the past ten years. In 1998, Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder, asked him to help handle the company’s supply chain and operations. Jobs named him as his successor in 2011, only months before his death from cancer.
According to World Bank figures, Apple’s value is larger than the annual economic production of the United Kingdom, France, India, and Italy combined. Only Germany, Japan, China, and the United States have a larger population.
Cook wrote in a note to employees after the business reached $1 trillion, “Financial returns are simply the outcome of Apple’s innovation, putting our products and customers first, and always keeping true to our principles.” Investors that want Apple to focus on stock performance rather than its goods should not invest in the firm, according to Cook.
Apple’s stock finished at $182.01 in regular trade, valuing the company at $2.99 trillion.
