Apple became the first $1 trillion publicly listed U.S. company on on August 2, crowning a decade-long rise fuelled by its ubiquitous iPhone that transformed it from a niche player in personal computers into a global powerhouse spanning entertainment and communications.
The tech company’s stock jumped 2.8% to as high as $207.05, bringing its gain to about 9% since July 31 when it reported June-quarter results above expectations and said it bought back $20 billion of its own shares.
Started in the garage of co-founder Steve Jobs in 1976, Apple has pushed its revenue beyond the economic outputs of Portugal, New Zealand and other countries. Along the way, it has changed how consumers connect with one another and how businesses conduct daily commerce.
The Silicon Valley stalwart’s stock has surged more than 50,000% since its 1980 initial public offering, dwarfing the S&P 500’s approximately 2,000% increase during the same almost four decades. During that time, Apple evolved from selling Mac personal computers to becoming an architect of the mobile revolution with a cult-like following.
Jobs, who died in 2011, was succeeded as chief executive by Tim Cook, who has doubled the company’s profits but struggled to develop a new product to replicate the society-altering success of the iPhone, which has seen sales taper off in recent years.