The $2trillion Apple
Tech giant is the first US firm to pass milestone
APPLE became the first American company to break through the $2trillion (€1.7trilion) barrier last night.
The iPhone maker hit the milestone after its share price rose to a record high.
The huge success of products such as the Mac, iPod and iPhone have pushed its revenues beyond the economic outputs of countries such as Portugal and Peru.
And its current market value is equal to the entire annual economic output of Italy.
It comes just two years after Apple became the first listed company to reach a value of $1trillion (€840billion). Apple’s rise came as the US stock market also rallied to new highs, with the country’s technology giants among the biggest winners. The firm’s achievement cements Apple’s position as the world’s most valuable company and shows the dominance of the tech giants during the pandemic.
The companies – including Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Netflix – have benefited from the lockdown due to the shift towards digital services as people have been forced to spend more time indoors. The firms have gained $2.5trillion (€2.11trillion) in market value since the start of this year. This is despite the US economy reeling from a record contraction and the growing jobs crisis. The rise in Apple’s share price has added $700billion (€591billlion) to its value this year. The tech giant eclipsed state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco as the world’s most valuable firm in July when it unveiled quarterly sales of $59.7billion (€50.4billion) per day.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at trading platform IG, said yesterday: ‘Tech stocks continue to solidify their lead over the rest of the market.
‘Apple’s push to $2trillion in market cap is yet another lesson in how investors continue to back the winners, even as concerns grow about the pace of the economic recovery.’ Apple was founded in 1976 as Apple Computer Company by college dropouts Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
Tim Cook, the firm’s current boss, recently joined the ranks of the world’s billionaires thanks to the rise in share price. Mr Cook previously said he plans to give most of his fortune to charity.