Apple became the first publicly traded U.S. company valued at $1 trillion in market capitalization in August 2018.
Apple reached the milestone on August 2, 2018, when its share price lifted the company’s market value above $1 trillion during trading. The figure was calculated by multiplying Apple’s share price by its outstanding shares.
The achievement reflected strong demand for the iPhone, alongside revenue from services, Mac computers, iPads, and accessories. Apple had already become the world’s most valuable publicly traded company by market capitalization several years earlier.
Market capitalization is not the same as annual sales, profit, or cash reserves. It changes whenever the share price moves, so the exact ranking of the world’s richest companies can change daily. Saudi Aramco later became the first company outside the United States to reach a $2 trillion valuation.