Apple became the first company to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization on the Nasdaq exchange.
Apple crossed the threshold on August 2, 2018, as its Nasdaq-listed shares rose after the company reported strong results and guidance. The market-cap calculation used the company’s share price and its outstanding shares, rather than its annual revenue or cash balance.
The achievement followed years of expansion after the iPhone transformed Apple’s business. Investors also valued the company’s tightly connected hardware, software, and services ecosystem, which encouraged customers to remain within Apple’s product family and generated recurring digital revenue.
Amazon reached $1 trillion later in August 2018, and Microsoft and Alphabet joined the group afterward. These milestones are often compared, but the dates can vary depending on whether a source uses an intraday market value or a closing valuation. Apple’s August 2 intraday crossing is the commonly cited event.