Apple Surpasses $4 Trillion Market Cap for the First Time, Joining Nvidia and Microsoft as the 'Big 3'

Record High Driven by Strong iPhone 17 Sales

Apple has surpassed a market capitalization of $4 trillion, becoming the third company in the world to join the "4 Trillion Dollar Club" after Nvidia and Microsoft (MS).

Apple logo. Photo by AFP News Agency

On October 28 (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange, Apple’s share price rose 0.19% from the previous day to $269.32 per share as of 1:40 p.m., pushing its intraday market cap over $4 trillion.

Since hitting its low point in April this year, Apple's stock price has soared by more than 50%, resulting in an increase of approximately $1.4 trillion in market capitalization.

This surge in share price is largely attributed to the strong performance of the new iPhone 17. According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, the iPhone 17 series, released last month, sold 14% more units in the United States and China within the first 10 days compared to its predecessor, the iPhone 16. As a result, Apple reached an all-time closing high on October 20, surpassing its previous record set in December of last year.

Apple also strengthened its product competitiveness ahead of the year-end shopping season by launching the iPad Pro with the M5 chip, Vision Pro, and MacBook Pro in succession.

Expectations for an easing of the U.S.-China trade conflict and a recovery in the Chinese market also supported the rise in Apple’s share price.

Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, commented, "Apple has lagged somewhat in the artificial intelligence (AI) race so far, but reaching a $4 trillion market cap is a major milestone for both Cupertino (Apple’s headquarters) and the big tech industry. Apple has proven itself to be the world’s top consumer brand."

However, future prospects for Apple’s share price are mixed. According to Bloomberg, among the so-called "Magnificent 7" big tech companies, Apple-excluding Tesla-has the lowest proportion of buy ratings, and its 12-month target price is about 6% lower than its current level.

Meanwhile, Microsoft’s share price also rose by more than 2% during the same period, regaining a $4 trillion market cap. Microsoft first joined the 4 Trillion Dollar Club in July. On this day, following the confirmation of OpenAI’s governance restructuring, Microsoft announced that it had secured a 27% stake in OpenAI’s for-profit entity, which operates as a public-benefit corporation, and would strengthen its AI collaboration.