At $3 trillion, Apple is now worth more than the entire GDP of India

Apple, the computer company that started in a California garage in 1976, on Monday (January 4) topped a market value of $3 trillion – the first publicly traded company ever to be worth that much.

The iPhone maker’s shares were briefly up about 3 per cent to an all-time high of $182.88, surpassing the $182.85 per share it needed to be worth $3 trillion. The stock later pulled back from that level.

Its value is now greater than the $2.87 trillion GDP of India, but still short of the $3.85 trillion GDP of Germany, according to World Bank data.

Apple’s market value first crossed the $1 trillion-mark in August 2018 and passed $2 trillion in August 2020.

The Cupertino company’s share price has marched steadily higher for years, leaving it up more than 200 per cent since COVID first sent the world into lockdown in early 2020. The valuation underlines the centrality of technology for work, education, entertainment and keeping connected – all markets that Apple touches on deeply through its hardware, software, and media services.

The company’s size means it has a pronounced influence on the overall equity market; its weight within the S&P 500 Index is 7 per cent.

Apple alone is now more valuable than the combined values of Boeing, Coca-Cola, Disney, Exxon-Mobil, McDonald’s, Netflix and Walmart.

The company is also the largest taxpayer in the United States. In April, Apple said it had paid $45 billion in taxes over the prior five years.

Analysts expect Microsoft will also hit the $3 trillion mark later this year.