On Monday, Apple Inc.’s stock market value temporarily surpassed $3 trillion, breaking yet another milestone and demonstrating how the epidemic has accelerated Big Tech’s decades-long rise.
Apple was the first company to reach this milestone, although it was unable to maintain its position above the mark until the end of the trading day. With a market capitalization of $2.99 trillion, it closed 2.5 percent higher at $182.01.
The gain occurred amid a generally bullish stock market session, with Apple and Amazon.com Inc. both helping the Nasdaq 100 Index to outperform.
The stock of the iPhone maker has been gradually rising for years, with a gain of more than 200 percent since Covid initially put the globe on lockdown in early 2020, emphasising the importance of technology for work, education, entertainment, and staying connected.
Apple’s rally has coincided with consistent revenue growth, indicating that major goods, as well as new offers such as virtual reality headsets and self-driving cars, have a bright long-term future.
“I never thought I’d see a $3 trillion market cap, but it really speaks to Apple’s prospects over the next five to 10 years,” said Patrick Burton, co-portfolio manager of the MainStay Winslow Large Cap Growth Fund, which holds about 2.75 million Apple stocks.
“We feel very good about the outlook, and continue to see meaningful opportunities ahead, with a stable iPhone franchise and growth drivers from both services and new products.”
In mid-2018, the stock surpassed a $1 trillion valuation, and in August 2020, it crossed a $2 trillion valuation mark. Saudi Aramco was the first $2 trillion corporation in the world, and it was the first U.S. company to do so. Because of its size, Apple has a significant impact on the overall equities market; it accounts for around 7% of the S&P 500 Index.
Apple has been the most valuable stock in the world since 2011 — when its market valuation was around $340 billion and it made up about 3.3 percent of the S&P 500 — and has never been far from the top. After warning about the impact supply-chain concerns would have on the holiday quarter, it temporarily fell behind Microsoft Corporation in October, though that second-place status was short-lived. The stock has grown more than 12 percent in the last month, compared to 3.6 percent for Microsoft, which now has a market capitalization of more than $2.51 trillion.
