August 20, 2012: Apple passes a monetary milestone because it turns into probably the most worthwhile publicly traded inventory ever.

The corporate it bests to realize this document? Longtime rival Microsoft, which peaked on December 30, 1999. Apple’s surge to the highest spot serves as a reminder of simply how radically the fortunes of each corporations modified through the years.

Apple market cap blows by Microsoft’s peak

On the time of reaching this monetary document, Apple’s market capitalization hit $623.5 billion. That surpassed Microsoft’s $618.69 billion valuation within the closing days of the earlier century.

Adjusted for inflation, Microsoft nonetheless held the document. Nonetheless, Apple’s ascension nonetheless proved extraordinary. All through the Nineties, Microsoft — a former Apple developer — trounced Cupertino at each flip. Nonetheless, a collection of hit merchandise positioned Apple firmly within the driver’s seat.

Apple shares on August 20, 2012, traded at $665.15. Questioning why that’s greater than the $170-plus AAPL trades at as of this writing? This was earlier than a 7-to-1 inventory break up in 2014 and a 4-to-1 break up in 2020 that vastly elevated the variety of Apple shares out there.

Apple’s rocketship trajectory

Apple’s document wasn’t an enormous shock. Regardless of the predictions of doom the corporate confronted after Steve Jobs’ dying the yr earlier than, Apple was clearly on a roll again then.

In 2011, Apple overtook ExxonMobil to change into the world’s most dear firm. By mid-2012, its valuation was greater than 50% bigger than ExxonMobil, with over $200 billion separating the 2 corporations’ market caps.

Since then, Apple continued its upward trajectory below the regular management of CEO Tim Cook dinner. After smashing Microsoft’s document, Apple went on to change into the primary public firm in historical past valued at $700 billion, then $800 billion and $900 billion.

Now we’re speaking trillions

In 2018, Apple lastly achieved an astonishing determine because it handed the $1 trillion mark. Microsoft adopted it previous the $1 trillion mark a couple of months later. In 2020, Apple turned the primary publicly traded U.S. firm to surpass $2 trillion. Early in 2022, it surged previous the $3 trillion mark earlier than pulling again amid a broad market selloff. Apple inventory surpassed the $3 trillion market cap once more earlier this yr, earlier than settling in round $2.73 trillion.

Did you’ve got the foresight to put money into Apple again when it was (comparatively) low-cost? Do you’ve got any horror tales about promoting your AAPL holdings earlier than they actually took off? Tell us within the feedback beneath.