More than four decades of development, innovation, and growth has seen Apple Inc. rise from the humble Apple I (invented in 1976) to the iPhone 13 (launched in 2021), and finally what is now the world’s first company to hit US$3 trillion in stock market value. 

As great an achievement as it is, the multi-specialty American tech company is far from hedging its bets on the crowd-favorite iPhone and is now rumored to enter the matrix of automated cars and virtual reality (VR).

As per Reuters, the Silicon Valley company’s shares hit an intraday record high of US$182.82 on the first day of trading in 2022. This put the company’s market value at just above US$3 trillion.

The stock ended the session up 2.5 per cent at US$182.01, with Apple’s market capitalisation at US$2.99 trillion.

Dubbed as the ‘world’s most valuable company’, Apple Inc. is currently a pioneer in the field of telecommunication with smartphones and software, personal computing, software development, OTT services such as music and video streaming, cyber security, and more recently, manufacturing microprocessors.

Reuters quotes Jake Dollarhide, the Chief Executive Officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as saying: “It’s a fantastic accomplishment and certainly worthy to be celebrated.

“It just shows you how far Apple has come, and how dominant it is seen as in the majority of investors’ eyes.”

Other trillion-dollar (US) companies in market value include Microsoft ($US2.5 trillion), Alphabet Inc. (US$1.93 trillion), Saudi Aramco (US$1.9 trillion), Amazon (US$1.73 trillion), and more to the likes of companies such as Tesla and Meta.

Apple Inc. Price [January 4, 2022] Source: Google

The passing of founder Steve Jobs in 2011 saw Tim Cook take over as the Chief Executive of the company. Under the new management, Apple Inc. has made strides into previously unchartered territories such as video streaming and music services with Apple TV and Apple Music, respectively.

This has reportedly helped the company reduce its reliance on the iPhone, which currently only marks 52 per cent of the total fiscal revenue from 2021 (from 60 per cent previously).