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Apple crosses $2 trillion market cap as world’s most valuable company

Just two years after becoming the first U.S. company to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization, Apple has officially doubled its valuation to $2 trillion. This remarkable feat means it’s tied with a non-tech firm for bragging rights to the title of world’s most valuable company for now.

The $2 trillion market cap is based on Apple’s stock breaking a price of $467.77 per share, multiplied by the company’s most recent report of 4,275,634,000 outstanding shares. Prior to Apple hitting the official milestone today, shares were trading in the $464 range, flirting with $467 before briefly pushing to $467.97, and later to $468.65. Apple’s own Stocks app first showed a $2 trillion intraday valuation as of 10:49 a.m.Eastern; the stock’s final closing price for the day will be determined after the NASDAQ exchange closes at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

Apple is technically the second company to reach the $2 trillion level, as the Saudi Arabian Oil Company also known as Saudi Aramco first hit that number in December 2019 on the strength of then-solid demand for fossil fuels. Aramco’s valuation was subsequently reduced by COVID-19-related travel declines and falling oil prices, as well as skepticism over the value of its assets, such that its market cap recently hovered near $1.8 trillion (6.68 trillion Saudi riyals). But the oil producer returned to the $2 trillion mark shortly before Apple came within striking distance of its prior record. By contrast, Apple’s closest tech company rivals Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft all crossed the $1 trillion mark after Apple, but today their market caps trail the Cupertino company’s by hundreds of billions of dollars.

Despite the global pandemic, Apple has generated remarkably strong revenues over the past two quarters, and analysts expect the company’s good times to continue for the foreseeable future. Macs and iPads have both seen upticks as customers sought work-from-home and school-from-home solutions, while Apple’s media streaming, warranty, and payment processing services have continued to grow at a brisk pace. Updates to the popular iPhone and Apple Watch are expected this fall, only slightly off the normal September schedule, with the first new ARM-based “Apple Silicon” Macs following soon after.

Apple has also announced it will split its stock by a 4:1 ratio, making shares available on August 31 for a quarter of their prior price a move that will allow new investors to buy in, likely fueling another round of steady growth undaunted by questions about the company’s future in China, one of its largest markets. Despite cooperating with the Chinese government, Apple has faced the threat of trade-related restrictions due to the Trump administration’s saber rattling, which has imperiled both its hardware production and sales in the region.

Source
venturebeat

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