The US tech giant Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) has done it again. Not only is the world-famous iPhone maker still reigning supreme as the world's largest publically-traded company, it also just passed another major milestone in US trading last night (our time).
During intra-day trading on US markets, Apple hit a new all-time high, reaching US$182.88 a share. That share price put Apple stock at a market capitalisation of US$3 trillion for the first time ever. It also marked the first time that a publicly-listed company has ever commanded a market cap of this magnitude.
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Apple hits US$3 trillion market cap
Even though Apple hit this new milestone during intra-day trading, it's worth noting that the stock closed at US$182.01 by the end of the session, giving it a market cap of US$2.99 trillion. It's been a long time coming for Apple, but also highlights this company's neck-cracking growth over the past few years in particular.
Remember, it was only in August 2018 that Apple first hit the US$1 trillion marker, the first time any US company has had 'the big T' in front of its market cap. It only took another two years for Apple to double, hitting US$2 trillion in August 2020. It has taken even less time again for Apple to add the additional 'tril' that we saw this morning.
As it stands today, Apple shares are now up a very pleasing 517.4% over the past five years.
So now that Apple has hit this latest milestone, what next for this tech giant? Is this just a pitstop on the way to a US$4 trillion market cap for Apple? Its performance over the past few years might give the impression that it's only a matter of years, if not months, away.
Is the big 4 next?
Our Fool colleagues over in the US reckon the stars might have aligned for Apple to have a 4 in front of its market cap in the not-too-distant future. In some analysis done last week, they argued that Apple stock could gain another US$1 trillion in market cap through valuation expansion alone. Pointing out that Apple's tech rival Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) currently trades on a free cash flow multiple of 42, Apple's ~31 multiple could leave a lot of runway for growth.
But the company could also be assisted by pure fundamentals too. Here's what US Fool contributor Daniel Sparks had to say on that:
But even without this much multiple expansion, strong fundamentals could lift Apple shares meaningfully in 2022 and beyond. Consider that the company is seeing strong double-digit revenue growth recently, with record fiscal fourth-quarter revenue across every geographic and product segment…
Suffice to say, Apple's business is firing on all cylinders. With momentum in every geographic and product segment, it wouldn't be surprising to see double-digit growth rates in the company's revenue and free cash flow in fiscal 2022, providing solid substance for more share gains.
But, as with anything in the investing world, nothing is certain. It's possible that this is just the latest stop on Apple's journey to a US$4 trillion market cap. it's also possible that last night's new highs prove to be Apple's peak. But no one can deny this world-famous company has had an amazing run over the past decade.
