Apple became the first publicly traded company to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization in August 2018.
The milestone reflected the market value of Apple’s outstanding shares, rather than the company’s cash holdings or annual revenue. Apple crossed the threshold after its share price rose following strong quarterly results and an upbeat outlook for the iPhone and services businesses.
Amazon became the second U.S. company to reach $1 trillion later in 2018. Microsoft and Alphabet also joined the trillion-dollar group, but neither had crossed the milestone first.
Market capitalization changes every trading day because it is calculated by multiplying a company’s share price by its shares outstanding. Apple’s valuation has since passed several higher round-number milestones, including $2 trillion and $3 trillion.