Apple Becomes A $1 Trillion Company

03/08/2018

Apple becomes a $1 trillion company when the Cupertino-based company saw its stock surged nearly six percent after reporting better than expected earnings in the second quarter of 2018, going up to $207.05 per share at 11:48am ET.

This surpasses both its own projections and analysts’ estimates.

Many analysts thought Amazon would get there first, but the company co-founded by the Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak was capable of beating Jeff Bezos' company. Apple can also partially credit U.S. President Donald Trump as his administration made some business-friendly legislative moves, allowing Apple to reclaim tens of billions in international funds being held outside of the U.S. without paying taxes.

The company may sell fewer iPhones, but by releasing more expensive versions and more variant each year, Apple made more money per device. Apple has also diversified the sources of its profits, making it earn about $10 billion every three months from services such as selling apps, cloud storage and music streaming.

Also boosting Apple shares was because the company decided to set aside $100 billion to buy back its stock.

Apple from 2001 to 2018
Apple from 2001 to 2018

Apple came a long way to reach this height. It started in a garage in 1976, when Jobs managed to interest Wozniak in assembling a computer machine and selling it. Apple's first computer was the Apple I.

This was the beginning of the company that would be later known best for its Mac personal computers.

Then it was in 1997 that Microsoft with Bill Gates bailed out Apple with a $150 million investment. At that time, it was the dark days for Apple, but without Microsoft's help, Apple wouldn't be able to create the iPod which revolutionized how we listen to music.

Later, when Apple introduced the original iPhone in 2007, the company's shares soared up by 1,100 percent. This was because the demands of iPhones were very high, as Apple revolutionized the mobile industry.

Over the next following years, Apple continued innovating. While some products succeed and some didn't really took off, Apple kept on creating expensive high-quality devices, differentiating itself from others, and perfecting the company's recipe of success.

In 2011, Jobs died and was replaced by Tim Cook. He oversaw the development of the iPhone, which transformed Apple's fortunes.

In 2006 the company had sales of less than $20 billion and posted profits of almost $2 billion. A decade later, the company's sales hit $229 billion with profits of $48.4 billion. At that time, Apple was the most profitable listed U.S. company.

Previously, PetroChina briefly reached the $1 trillion mark back in 2007, briefly before its stock fell below that mark.