$1 Trillion: Apple's Market Cap Hits Milestone

Since its establishment over 40 years ago, Apple, Inc. AAPL has consistently demonstrated its ability to innovate, enrich and revolutionize technology.

What Happened

Today, Apple became the first American company valued at $1 trillion, following its strong third-quarter earnings report. Apple's stock rose 3 percent, trading at a session high of $207.05, pushing it past the trillion threshold. The tech giant had long been approaching this milestone, teetering closely on the edge with FAANG competitor, Amazon AMZN since last month.

Bloomberg’s Jon Erlichman tweeted a list of Apple’s market cap milestones since 1980.

Apple market cap milestones:

Aug 2018: $1 trillion
Nov 2017: $900 billion
May 2017: $800 billion
Nov 2014: $700 billion
Apr 2012: $600 billion
Feb 2012: $500 billion
Jan 2012: $400 billion
Jan 2011: $300 billion
Mar 2010: $200 billion
May 2007: $100 billion
Dec 1980: $1 billion

— Jon Erlichman (@JonErlichman) August 2, 2018

Per the news of this historical event, Loup Ventures' Gene Munster reported on Apple's success thus far and the future of the company.

"Apple has embraced the innovator’s dilemma unlike any other company in history, which is best exemplified by the iPhone all but destroying the iPod business. This illustrates what’s most impressive, the company’s ability to rapidly innovate. Today, Apple has a growing base of 1.3 billion active devices, including just over 810 million active iPhones," he wrote in a post.

Munster was a former Piper Jaffray analsyt who covered Apple from 2004-2016.

Why It’s Important

Despite the rise of tough competition, Apple has remained steadfast in its focus on loyal users. This news reveals a stable company that not only encompasses a strong yearly growth rate of 5-10 percent, but also returns a majority of profit to shareholders, according to Munster.

If any company should have done it, it's Apple. No one claim that the company or stock didn't earn it. The most profitable company in history, born in America. https://t.co/1M7wAvlEwR

— Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) August 2, 2018

What’s Next

Apple is expected to release a new series of products this fall, while the company anticipates new developments in the product line soon.

"In the future, the base of active devices will increasingly be made up of a mix of wearables (Apple Watch and Apple Glasses). The company’s higher purpose, to enrich people’s lives, will not change. This gives us confidence that Apple’s active device base and the revenue per user will continue to increase," Munster said.

The stock traded around $206.67 per share at time of publication.

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