Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has solidified its position as the world’s most valuable publicly traded company with a market capitalization of $2 trillion.
Apple’s $2-trillion milestone arrives just two years after Apple became the first publicly listed U.S. company with a $1 trillion market capitalization. The Cupertino, California-based company’s shares briefly rose to as high as $468.65 in trading Wednesday, equivalent to a market capitalization of $2.004 trillion. The company’s share price ended Wednesday at $462.83 a share.
Apple’s shares have surged since the company announced blowout quarterly results in July. Apple’s stock is up about 57% so far in 2020. The rally reflects growing investor confidence in Apple’s shift toward relying less on sales of iPhones and more on services for its users, including video, music and games.
Apple now accounts for close to 7% of the S&P 500’s total market value. Its market capitalization is about equal to the combined values of the S&P 500’s 200 smallest companies. However, Apple’s recent stock rally has left it potentially overvalued, according to a widely used metric. The stock is trading at over 30 times analysts’ expected earnings, its highest level in more than a decade, according to data from Refinitiv.
Microsoft and Amazon follow Apple as the most valuable publicly traded U.S. companies, each worth about $1.6 trillion. Google-owner Alphabet is worth just over $1 trillion. Apple is slated to split its stock four-for-one when trading opens on Aug. 31, with the company saying it aims to make its shares more accessible to individual investors.
