According to foreign media TechCrunch , Apple became the first listed company with a market capitalization of US$3 trillion at the close of the trading day. The company's share price rose by about 2.31% this Friday, hitting a record high. Back in January 2022, the company's market capitalization briefly hit $3 trillion for the first time, but failed to hold that level by the end of the day.
Apple's stock has soared nearly 46% this year, in stark contrast to its performance in 2022. In January of this year, Apple's trading market value fell below $2 trillion for the first time since the beginning of 2021.
The debut of OpenAI's ChatGPT in late 2022 sparked a wave of AI hype. Since then, companies like Microsoft, Google, Nvidia, and Meta have jumped on the AI wave. Nvidia leads the S&P 500 this year, jumping 181%; Meta is not far behind, jumping 137%. Apple, on the other hand, rarely mentions AI when its competitors are fully committed to this emerging technology.
The valuation milestone comes shortly after Apple unveiled its long-rumored AR headset, the Apple Vision Pro. Valued at $3,499, it's expected to go on sale next year. Apple also reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings in May, despite lower sales and profits.
It is worth noting that there are four other US companies with a valuation of more than $1 trillion, namely Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Nvidia.