Tech giant Apple is first trillion-dollar company – albeit briefly

Apple became the first $1 trillion (Dh3.67tn) publicly listed company in US history on Thursday, crowning a decade-long rise fuelled by its ubiquitous iPhone that transformed it from a niche player in personal computers into a market leader whose operations span entertainment and communications.

The company’s stock jumped 2.8 per cent to as high as $207.05 – before falling back slightly – bringing its gains to about 9 per cent since Tuesday, when it reported June quarter results were above market expectations and said it had bought back $20 billion of its shares.

Founded in 1976, Apple has pushed its revenue beyond the economic outputs of Portugal, New Zealand and other countries.

Along the way, it has changed how consumers connect with one another and how businesses conduct daily commerce. Apple’s stock market value is greater than the combined capitalisations of Exxon Mobil, Procter & Gamble and AT&T. It accounts for 4 per cent of the S&P 500.

One of three founders, Steve Jobs was driven out of Apple in the mid-1980s to return a decade later and rescue the company from near bankruptcy.

He launched the iPhone in 2007, dropping “Computer” from Apple’s name and super-charging the mobile-telephone industry, catching Microsoft, Intel, Samsung Electronics and Nokia off guard.

In 2006, the year before the iPhone’s launch, Apple generated less than $20bn in sales and net profit just shy of $2bn. By last year, its sales had grown more than elevenfold to $229bn.