Apple first surpassed a $1 trillion market capitalization in intraday trading on August 2, 2018.
The threshold was reached when Apple’s share price rose above the level required for its outstanding shares to be worth $1 trillion. Apple was the first U.S. company to achieve the landmark, although the precise figure changed with the number of shares outstanding and later corporate actions.
The achievement came more than four decades after Apple was founded in 1976. The iPhone had become the company’s main growth engine, while services, accessories, and recurring ecosystem revenue increasingly supported the business.
This record is often misstated as a $1 trillion revenue or profit milestone. It was neither. Market capitalization is a stock-market valuation based on share price, so it can rise or fall without an immediate change in sales or earnings. The distinction between an intraday record and a closing record is also important because prices can retreat before the trading session ends.