Apple, founded in 1976, became the first company to reach a $3 trillion market capitalization on January 3, 2022.
The company began with the Apple I personal computer and grew through successive product categories, including the Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Its market value eventually reflected not only hardware sales but also the economic power of its operating systems, developer platform, retail presence, and subscription services.
Apple’s founders were Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, although Wayne left the company soon after its creation. The business was originally called Apple Computer Company and adopted the name Apple Inc. in 2007 as its activities expanded beyond computers.
The $3 trillion figure was a market-capitalization threshold reached during trading. It was not a government valuation, a balance-sheet total, or a claim that Apple had three trillion dollars in revenue.