Whatever you may think of the iPhone, one thing nobody can deny is how well the company is able to sell its products. Now, the tech giant has reached a new milestone. Apple has finally touched a $1 trillion market capitalization and is the first US company to do so. We initially thought this is the first time in the world that has happened. But it turns out PetroChina already did that in 2007, albeit only for a brief moment.
The road to trillion dollars
Just a few days back, the tech giant reported strong earnings for its third quarter. It recorded $53.3 billion in revenue, a billion more than the projected figure. Thanks to the increased margins and average selling price, iPhone revenue has seen a 20% jump over the year. This was despite a slow 1% sales growth for the iPhones. In terms of iPad and Mac sales, there hasn’t been much growth in that front either.
Image Credits: Business Insider
But the company has certainly come a long way ever since going public in 1980. At the time, its stocks were valued at $0.51 per share. The next few decades, Apple spent its efforts building iMacs, iPods, and iPhones. Fast forward to 2nd of August 2018, Apple hit the trillion mark with a $207.05 share value.
What it means for Apple and others
To quote Chaim Gartenberg from The Verge, “There’s really no practical difference between Apple’s worth of $999 billion and $1 trillion”. Why? Because Apple is already vastly wealthy and powerful than many countries. So there is no real difference in its milestone from a practical sense.
Will Amazon become the second US company to hit $1tn? (Image Credits: Tech Gist Africa)
But with Apple hitting the big numbers, companies like Microsoft, Google and Amazon now have a more realistic shot at making it to a $1 trillion market capitalization. Amazon in particular looks to be next in line as the company reported a significantly profitable second quarter. Right now the retailer is valued at $883bn, followed by Alphabet (Google) at $845bn.
With great power, comes great responsibility
Of course, Apple might not be able to hold on too long to $1 trillion. But as the tech giants continue to grow on a massive scale, more and more questions are raised for the tech industry. For example, how will the regulations ensure that these companies don’t hold too much power in terms of the economic and political landscape?
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