Tech giant Apple has become the first US company to be valued at $2tn (£1.5tn) on the stock market. It reached the milestone just two years after becoming the world’s first trillion-dollar company in 2018.
Apple’s share price hit $467.77 in mid-morning trading in the US on Wednesday to push it over the $2tn mark. The only other company to reach the $2tn level was state-backed Saudi Aramco after it listed its shares last December.
But the oil giant’s value has slipped back to $1.8tn since then and Apple surpassed it to become the world’s most valuable traded company at the end of July.
The iPhone-maker’s shares have leapt more than 50% this year, despite the coronavirus crisis forcing it to shut retail stores and political pressure over its links China.
In fact, its share price has doubled since its low point in March, when panic about the coronavirus pandemic swept the markets.
Tech firms, which have been viewed as winners despite lockdowns, have seen their stock surge in recent weeks, helping the benchmark S&P 500 index to hit a record high.
Apple posted strong third quarter figures towards the end of July, including $59.7bn of revenue and double-digit growth in its products and services segments.
Currently, the next most valuable US Company is Amazon which is worth around $1.7tn.
A technology analyst at PP Foresight, Paolo Pescatore, indicated that Apple’s rapid share price rise is “an impressive feat within a short period of time”.
“The last few months have underlined the importance of users and households alike to own better quality devices, connections and services and with Apple’s strong broad portfolio of devices and a growing services offering, there are plentiful opportunities for future growth.”
He said the arrival of gigabit connectivity broadband would offer Apple “endless possibilities”.
“All eyes are now on the eagerly anticipated 5G iPhone which will fuel further consumer demand,” he added.
Apple’s first tag as a public company worth $1 trillion
Apple in 2018, became the world’s first public company to be worth $1 trillion (£767bn).
The iPhone maker’s market value reached the figure and its shares closed at a new record high of $207.39. Apple beat Silicon Valley rivals such as Amazon and Microsoft to become the first to hit the $1 trillion valuation.
Since the iPhone first went on sale in 2007, Apple shares soared by 1,100% and jumped almost a third in the past year.
The rise was even more astonishing – 50,000% – since the company first listed in 1980, which invariably dwarfs the 2,000% increase for the S&P 500 index over the same period.
Apple traced its origins to the garage of co-founder Steve Jobs in 1976 and was initially best known for its Mac personal computers before its smartphone paved the way for the app economy.
