Apple was the first company to reach a stock-market value of $1 trillion in August 2018.
The milestone reflected the enormous scale of Apple’s iPhone business, along with revenue from Macs, iPads, services, and accessories. Its share price rose enough for the company’s outstanding shares to total approximately one trillion dollars in market value.
Market capitalization is calculated by multiplying a company’s share price by its total number of outstanding shares. It is different from annual revenue, profit, or the amount of cash held by a business.
Amazon reached the same milestone later in 2018, while Microsoft and Alphabet also joined the trillion-dollar group. Apple subsequently became the first company to pass $2 trillion and $3 trillion in market capitalization.