NEW YORK: US tech giant Apple becomes the first company in the world to reach $3 trillion in market capitalization, as the company briefly hit the mark before dropping back shortly afterwards.

Apple broke the barrier when its share price hit $182.86. Apple rose 2.5% on Monday to close at $182.01, just missing closing the trading day at the $3 trillion mark.

The milestone is mostly symbolic but it shows investors remain bullish on Apple stock and its ability to grow. At a market value of $3 trillion, Apple tripled its valuation in under four years. And analysts see plenty of room to run.
Apple showed annual growth across all of its product categories in its fourth-quarter earnings, with revenue up 29% year-over-year. While the iPhone is still the biggest sales driver, Apple’s services business grew 25.6% year-over-year and delivered more than $18 billion in revenue during the quarter.

After taking 44 years to build a company with $2 trillion in market value, Apple reached the $3 trillion mark less than 17 months later. In fact, its market cap has tripled since August 2018.

Apple had shared the $2 trillion club with US software giant Microsoft and Saudi Arabia’s state-controlled oil company, Saudi Aramco. Two other US tech companies are close behind. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is nearing $2 trillion, while Amazon is valued by investors at more than $1.7 trillion.

Apple is being helped by strong demand for its iPhone 13, with sales estimated at more than 40 million units during the holiday shopping season, Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said. And while investors are bullish on the company’s ability to roll out popular hardware, he said Apple’s services business is worth around $1.5 trillion.