Think different...
Shares in Apple finished trading just a few cents below $194 on Friday, valuing the entire company at a cool $3.05 trillion — the first company in history to close above the “3T” barrier.
The remarkable run up in Apple shares means that the company has now added a whopping $984bn in market cap just this year, equivalent to gaining the value of 12 Airbnbs, 6 Disneys, 2.3 Walmarts or 122 Ralph Laurens.
...but not too different
Famously launched from a California garage, investors are clearly confident in the ongoing longevity of the iPhone which — as we explored in May — remains the gravity at the center of the Apple galaxy. 16 years since its release, the device still pulls consumers into other Apple products like high-end accessories, music streaming, TV, tablets, laptops and, in the not-so-distant future, Apple's idea of virtual reality.
Changes to the iPhone tend to be more evolution than revolution these days, and consumers are tending to wait longer before upgrading their model. Apple has navigated the maturing market with the release of the more expensive Pro lineup in 2019, helping sales climb higher.
Of course, Apple’s not the only tech company having a good year. Shares in Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Meta and Tesla have all soared in 2023. But no company has had quite as dramatic an ascent as Nvidia. Shares in the company have tripled in just 6 months — making it the newest member of the $1 trillion club — fueled by bets that the company’s semiconductors will prove to be an essential cog in the AI boom.
