Boosted by strong sales of its iPhone 17 series, Apple is on the verge of becoming only the third company in history to touch US$4 trillion in market capitalisation. The company’s shares surged to an all-time high on Monday.
Research firm Counterpoint said iPhone 17 series outperformed its predecessor in early sales in China and the United States. The latest models outsold the iPhone 16 series by 14 per cent during their first 10 days of availability in the two countries.
Apple outpaces Microsoft in valuation
Apple shares surged to US$262.24 at close on Monday, implying a market capitalisation of US$3.89 trillion, surpassing Microsoft as the second most valuable company in the world.
The only other companies to cross the US$4 trillion valuation are chipmaker Nvidia and Microsoft.
Nvidia, at US$182.64 a share, has a market cap of US$4.44 trillion, while Microsoft has fallen to number three at US$3.84 trillion. The software giant’s shares were trading at US$516.79 on Monday, down from a 52-week high of US$555.45.
Apple shares had struggled earlier this year on concerns over falling sales amidst tough competition in China and uncertainties around how the company would navigate high US tariffs on Asian economies such as China and India, its major manufacturing hubs.
Counterpoint data showed that sales of the base model iPhone 17 nearly doubled in China compared to the iPhone 16 during the same period.
Apple unveiled its iPhone 17 series in September, and included in the line-up was iPhone Air, its slimmest phone ever. It also kept the prices more or less same as the iPhone 16 models.
The Cupertino-based company is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on October 30.
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