Apple becomes first company to hit $3 trillion market value

Apple became the first company to attain a $3 trillion market valuation on Monday, with shares briefly rising to $182.86.

The new high water mark came following a year of huge pandemic-prompted growth for tech companies. Consumer spending on tech during lockdown has gone through the roof, with home office use expanding alongside digital entertainment requirements.

Apple’s shares alone climbed 30 percent in 2021, and the company announced a $20.6 billion profit during its last quarterly earnings call in October. This was despite numerous reports of supply chain difficulties, which allegedly resulted in lower yields around the time of the lynchpin iPhone 13 launch.

Apple was the first to hit a $1 trillion valuation in August 2018, and $2 trillion in August 2020. It’s taken the company just 16 months to rise from $2 trillion to $3 trillion.

Technically the company has already lost its ‘$3 trillion company’ moniker, with shares having fallen back to $182 later in the day.

With Apple’s move into AR and VR widely tipped for the near future, the company is likely to remain on its upward trajectory for 2022. Further out, it’s possible that the company will join Tesla in the electric car business, which is providing further fuel to investors.

Indeed, as we emerge from the pandemic and economies stabilise, many of the major tech companies are likely to see a major market valuation boost. It’s widely expected that longtime Apple rival Microsoft will be the next company to hit the magic $3 trillion marker in 2022, with a current valuation of around $2.5 trillion.