Could Apple become the world's first trillion dollar company by the end of 2018?

• As of July 16th, Apple’s market value stood at $938.4 billion, making it the world’s largest company in terms of market cap.
  
• The technology giant crossed the $900 billion capitalisation mark in November last year, following the launch of the iPhone X.
  
• With a number of looming product launches and the enthusiasm of a key investor, Apple could cross the 13-digit mark later this year.

No public company has ever crossed a capitalisation of $1 trillion, barring China’s state-owned oil firm PetroChina, which reached the mark briefly in 2007 before plunging soon after. However, those calculations are subject to dispute since its shares were listed on two separate exchanges at different prices.

Now, with a number of looming product launches and the enthusiasm of a key investor, Apple, which is already the world’s largest company by market capitalisation, could cross the 13-digit mark later this year. This would put it among the 17 richest countries in the world by GDP.

As of July 16th, Apple’s market value stood at $938.4 billion. It now needs to increase its market cap by just 6.6% to become a trillion-dollar company. After ending 2017 with a share price of $169, its shares have since reached $191, withstanding significant pressure due to subdued sales of the iPhone X.

In fact, the technology giant crossed the $900 billion capitalisation mark in November last year. This followed the launch of the latest update to the iPhone and a strong earnings release for the July-September quarter. It had only just reached a market value of over $800 billion in May 2017. From the announcement of the iPhone X on September 12th to its launch on November 3rd, Apple’s share price increased 8% to $174.25.

The company’s phenomenal growth is inextricably bound with the iPhone, which has catapulted it from a market cap of $100 billion to $900 billion in 10 years.

However, the last mile in the journey to $1 trillion will be a little difficult. Sales of the iPhone have slowed in recent years, but Apple’s strong profits as well as its heavy R&D investment and product additions thanks to its humongous cash reserves have supported a bullish outlook for the company on Wall Street.

Apple’s share price was given a boost in May 2018 after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway increased its holding in the company to 250 million shares. Buffett’s continued confidence in the company is vital to its trillion-dollar ambitions.

A spate of upcoming product launches will also be important. Apple is reportedly prepping the introduction of at least two new iPhone models and a significant software upgrade and is also doubling down on its services business.

If the moves are met with favourable market response, Apple could cross the $1 trillion mark during the holiday season in the fall. It does, however, have e-commerce giant Amazon hot on its heels. The Jeff Bezos-led firm is set to cross a market capitalisation of $900 billion soon, and a successful Prime Day event will help reduce the gap between the two firms.