The market capitalization of consumer electronics giant Apple (AAPL) has fallen below $2 trillion U.S. as the global selloff in equities continues.
On the first trading day of 2023, Apple’s stock fell 3.74% to $125.07 U.S. per share, a 52-week low, and putting the company’s valuation at $1.99 trillion U.S.
Apple first hit a $2 trillion U.S. valuation in August 2020, as the pandemic boosted sales of its computers and smartphones for remote work and school.
In January 2022, Apple became the first company in history to achieve a $3 trillion U.S. market capitalization.
However, Apple struggled with iPhone 14 Pro shipments during the recent holiday season because of ongoing COVID-19 restrictions at its main manufacturing plant in China.
Investors are also worried about declining consumer confidence, which could hurt global sales of Apple’s technology products.
Apple is the last big technology company to give up its $2 trillion U.S. valuation. Microsoft’s (MSFT) market capitalization fell below the $2 trillion U.S. level this past autumn.
The market selloff continued to start the New Year, with the benchmark S&P 500 index falling nearly under 1%.
In 2022, Apple underperformed the S&P 500, which declined 18% on the year. Apple’s share price dropped nearly 27% last year.
