Apple’s market capitalization first surpassed $2 trillion among publicly traded companies in 2020.
Apple passed the level on August 19, 2020, as its shares continued a strong rally. The milestone came just over two years after Apple had become the first U.S. public company valued at $1 trillion.
A market capitalization measures the value assigned by investors to a company’s equity. It is calculated by multiplying the share price by the number of shares outstanding, so it can rise or fall without any immediate change in factories, employees, or products.
Apple’s growth was driven by its large installed base of devices, premium hardware sales, and expanding services business. The company’s stock split later that month changed the quoted share price but not its total value.