Apple became the first company to reach a US$1 trillion valuation without being primarily an oil producer.
Apple crossed the threshold in August 2018, following decades of expansion from personal computers into mobile devices, digital services, and accessories. The achievement made it the first non-oil company to reach that market-capitalization level.
Before Apple’s milestone, energy companies had dominated many of the world’s largest-company rankings. PetroChina briefly reached a trillion-dollar market value in 2007, although its valuation fell sharply afterward.
The distinction concerns the company’s business sector, not its country of origin. Apple’s revenue was generated mainly by consumer technology and services, while large oil producers derived their value from reserves, production, refining, and energy prices.