Apple briefly surpassed a US$5 trillion market capitalisation for the first time on Tuesday, becoming only the second company after Nvidia to cross the historic milestone, as investors continued to back the iPhone maker ahead of its quarterly earnings.
The company’s shares climbed as high as US$342.89 during the session, lifting its market value to US$5.036 trillion. However, Apple later pared some gains to close up 0.72% at US$339.33, leaving it with a market capitalisation of US$4.98 trillion.
Apple reclaimed its position as the world’s most valuable listed company earlier this month after overtaking Nvidia, which became the first company to exceed the US$5 trillion valuation mark.
Nvidia’s shares also advanced on Tuesday, rising 0.53% to US$197.63, giving the AI chipmaker a market capitalisation of US$4.78 trillion.
Unlike many of its Big Tech peers, Apple has benefited from steering clear of the industry’s costly artificial intelligence infrastructure race. While rivals continue investing heavily in AI data centres, Apple has relied on Google’s AI technology to power new features, including an upgraded Siri, avoiding the mounting capital expenditure and debt associated with large-scale AI investments.
The strategy has helped Apple’s stock outperform the rest of the so-called Magnificent Seven technology companies. Its shares have gained around 25% so far this year, ahead of Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet.
Analysts also said Apple’s decision to keep iPhone prices unchanged, despite raising prices for MacBooks and iPads last month, encouraged consumers to buy its flagship smartphones before any potential price increases later this year.
The company also introduced a new device leasing programme in the US on Tuesday through payments provider Klarna. The programme offers monthly plans starting from US$17.99 for an iPhone, US$11.99 for an Apple Watch or iPad and US$24.99 for a Mac.
Dipanjan Chatterjee, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, said Apple’s strategy was centred on user experience rather than matching competitors’ AI spending.
“Apple has resisted the AI spending race, betting that customer experience — not infrastructure investment — will ultimately determine the winners,” he said.
“The new leasing program is a clever response: it doesn’t reduce the price of an iPhone, but it changes how consumers perceive the cost by replacing sticker shock with a predictable monthly payment.”
Investors are now turning their attention to Apple’s third-quarter earnings, scheduled for release after the market closes on Thursday. Analysts expect the company to report revenue growth of more than 15% compared with the same period a year ago.
Reuters
