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Alina Selyukh, NPR and Ryan Kailath, NPR

Apple becomes world's 1st private-sector company worth $1 trillion

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Apple, the world's most valuable publicly traded company, became the first to reach the milestone $1 trillion market value.
Apple, the world's most valuable publicly traded company, became the first to reach the milestone $1 trillion market value.
Don Emmert

Apple became the first private-sector company in history to be worth $1 trillion, after its share price reached an all-time high above $207 on Thursday.

The share price jumped by more than 8 percent this week after Apple reported impressive quarterly earnings on Tuesday, driven largely by strong sales for high-priced iPhones. In a call with investors, CEO Tim Cook also touted growth in other areas such as smart home products, wearable and services like the App Store and Apple Pay.

The $1 trillion milestone is largely symbolic, though impressive. Apple's market capitalization — a common financial measure of worth that multiplies the number of shares by the share price — makes the company worth more than the economies of, for example, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and Taiwan.

The tech company, launched from a garage in 1976, has been on a steady climb through the years, revolutionizing personal computers and phones with its Macs and iPhones. In recent years, Apple has been working to spread its cult-like following to newer devices like smartwatches, cordless headphones and smart home speakers.

PetroChina once had a $1 trillion valuation, but only briefly, and most of its shares were owned by the Chinese government. Other technology companies with high-flying, trendy stocks are expected to join Apple in the $1 trillion club before long. In recent years, the financial world considered Amazon and Apple to be in the race toward the milestone. On Thursday, Apple finished first. Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.