Apple Inc. today became the first publicly traded U.S. company to achieve a market capitalization of $3 trillion, a feat that comes less than four years after the iPhone maker’s valuation reached $1 trillion. 

The iPhone maker’s latest stock market milestone follows a 34% increase in its share price during 2021.

The combined value of Apple’s shares briefly surpassed $3 trillion this morning after its stock price reached $182.86. The iPhone maker’s market capitalization has since dropped to just below $3 trillion, as its shares closed at $182.01.

Apple is the most valuable of the tech industry’s top five largest companies. Microsoft Corp. has the second-highest market capitalization of about $2.5 trillion, followed by Google LLC parent Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., and Meta Platforms Inc., the company previously known as Facebook.

The increase in Apple’s valuation over the past few years is to a significant degree the result of its continued revenue growth. Despite a $6 billion sales shortfall attributed to supply chain issues and other constraints, the company managed to grow revenue by 29% year-over-year last quarter, to $83.4 billion. In the current quarter, the iPhone maker is expected to generate sales of $119.42 billion.

Apple’s recent sales momentum is the result of several factors.

Last quarter, Apple’s Mac business reached an all-time revenue record of $9.17 billion. The company attributed the growth partly to strong demand for editions of the MacBook powered by its custom M1 processor, which promises to provide faster performance than comparable Intel Corp. silicon. The quarterly results suggest that Apple’s continued investment in chip development is making an increasingly significant impact on its earnings. 

The iPhone continues to be both Apple’s top revenue driver and a major source of growth. The company said last quarter that iPhone sales reached $38.69 billion, which represented an impressive 47% year-over-year increase.

Last April, Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri cautioned that the company’s revenue growth will “decelerate from the September quarter.” However, the executive said growth is expected to “remain strong” overall.

One way Apple has sought to maintain revenue growth is by scaling its services business, which includes offerings such as Apple TV+, Apple Music and Apple News+. The iPhone maker reportedly allocated $6 billion to Apple TV+ content alone in 2019. The investments have paid off: The company disclosed last April that its services business had more than 660 million subscribers.

Apple’s long-term revenue growth may benefit from its rumored plans to expand into new product categories. If the effort proves successful, the company’s market capitalization could benefit as well. 

Recent reports suggest that the iPhone maker could launch a virtual reality headset as early as this year. Apple’s longer-term product roadmap, meanwhile, reportedly includes the development of an autonomous electric car that would be powered by a custom chip. The vehicle is expected to launch in 2027. 

Photo: Apple