New York: Apple became the first American company with a market capitalization of $3 trillion and briefly reached a milestone on Monday in the latest demonstration of a surge in the technology industry pandemic.
The iPhone maker hit a record high around 1845 GMT, reaching $182.88 per share, and then fell back slightly.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the tech giant was also the first American company to reach a market value of US$2 trillion in August 2020. The pandemic has stimulated demand for personal electronics and digital services, such as Apple’s streaming Media and smartphone app store.
It is also the first US company with a market capitalization of over US$1 trillion in August 2018.
The surge marks the latest accomplishment for Tim Cook, who became chief executive of the Cupertino, California giant in 2011 shortly before the death of the company s visionary cofounder, Steve Jobs.
While the top tier of US stock markets are dominated by Silicon Valley companies, Microsoft is the only other American company worth more than $2 trillion.
In October, Apple reported net income of $20.5 billion on revenue of $83.4 billion, a record high for the quarter ending in September.
The company s fiscal 2021 revenues were $365.8 billion, more than triple the level of a decade ago.
But like many other technology giants, Apple has also faced pressure in recent months due to supply chain issues, including global semiconductor shortages and Covid-related manufacturing disruptions in Southeast Asia.
Apple’s stock price plummeted after the release of its earnings report in October, but has since rebounded, rising nearly 20% in the last two months of 2021.
Some 45 years after its establishment that helped make personal computers a mainstream profit, Apple s revenues today are mostly closely tied to the iPhone, which was first unveiled in 2007.
But increasingly smartphones are also crucial gateways to services revenue, an increasingly pivotal component of Apple s prowess. Revenues for services, which includes the Apple TV streaming product and the Apple Pay services have tripled over the last five years.
This business has taken off under Cook, who initially faced questions about his ability to navigate and create the technology frontier as ably as the charismatic Jobs.
But Cook has won over Wall Street with clear communication and effective execution as he has helped build new business, including wearables, which accounted for more than $38 billion in sales last year.
