Apple has just become the first publicly traded company to reach a trillion dollar valuation
To most people, a trillion might as well be a made-up number – but we’ll try to put it into context. A trillion is a thousand billion, or $1,000,000,000,000. That’s a lot of zeroes!
After some late night number crunching yesterday, AAPL finally hit this milestone market cap thanks to its 4.8 billion or so shares hitting an all-time high market value of a little over $207 each. Multiply those together (if you dare) and you can see why the stock market values the company at just over the full trillion.
There has been some debate over the past few months over which company would reach the symbolic milestone first: Apple or Amazon. Though we expect Amazon to hit the marker in the not-too-distant future, too, Apple has certainly won this round!
CEO Tim Cook has already sent a statement to his staff, congratulating them on the achievement but reminding them it’s essentially meaningless – financial success, he says, is merely a side effect of the innovation and excellence he values at Apple. We’ve included the note in full below in case you’re curious to hear more from Cook.
Tim Cook’s memo
Team,
Today Apple passed a significant milestone. At our closing share price of $207.39, the stock market now values Apple at more than $1 trillion. While we have much to be proud of in this achievement, it’s not the most important measure of our success. Financial returns are simply the result of Apple’s innovation, putting our products and customers first, and always staying true to our values.
It’s you, our team, that makes Apple great and our success is due to your hard work, dedication, and passion. I am deeply humbled by what you do, and it’s the privilege of a lifetime to work alongside you. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the late hours and extra trips, all the times you refuse to settle for anything less than excellence in our work together.
Let’s take this moment to thank our customers, our suppliers and business partners, the Apple developer community, our coworkers, and all those who came before us at this remarkable company.
Steve founded Apple on the belief that the power of human creativity can solve even the biggest challenges – and that the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do. In today’s world, our mission is more important than ever. Our products not only create moments of surprise and delight, they empower people all around the globe to enrich their lives and the lives of others.
Just as Steve always did in moments like this, we should all look forward to Apple’s bright future and the great work we’ll do together.
Tim