New York: Apple Inc. briefly reached a market valuation of $4 trillion for the first time on Tuesday, becoming the third Big Tech company to hit the milestone, following Microsoft and Nvidia.
The surge was fueled by strong global demand for its latest iPhone 17 lineup, which helped ease investor concerns about the company’s slower pace in the artificial intelligence (AI) race.
Apple’s stock momentarily climbed to $269.89, pushing its valuation to $4.005 trillion, before closing slightly lower at $3.992 trillion, up 0.1 percent for the day. The milestone marks a remarkable turnaround, with the company’s shares gaining about 13 percent since the launch of the new iPhones on September 9, lifting Apple into positive territory for 2025.
US tariffs effect
Earlier this year, Apple’s stock had struggled amid tough competition in China and uncertainty over US tariffs on Asian manufacturing hubs such as China and India. However, the iPhone 17 series and the newly introduced iPhone Air have quickly reignited consumer enthusiasm, with strong sales reported from Beijing to Moscow despite tariff-related cost pressures.
Analysts say that the iPhone Air’s ultra-slim design gives Apple an advantage over rivals like Samsung Electronics, while Counterpoint Research data shows iPhone 17 sales outperforming last year’s model by 14 percent in both the US and China.
Brokerage Evercore ISI predicts that robust demand for Apple’s latest models will allow the company to exceed market expectations for the September quarter and deliver optimistic guidance for the December period. Apple now joins Nvidia, currently valued at nearly $5 trillion, and Microsoft in the exclusive $4 trillion club.
Despite its success, concerns remain about Apple’s delayed AI strategy. The company’s Apple Intelligence platform and ChatGPT integration have rolled out more slowly than competitors’ offerings, and its AI-enhanced Siri upgrade has been postponed to next year. Reports suggest Apple has lost several senior AI executives to Meta and is exploring collaborations with Alphabet’s Gemini AI, Anthropic, and OpenAI.
Apple posted its strongest quarterly results in years during the April–June period, achieving double-digit growth across key segments and surpassing analyst forecasts. The company is expected to announce its fourth-quarter results on October 30.
Currently, Apple’s shares trade at 33 times projected 12-month earnings, compared with 27 times for the Nasdaq 100, according to LSEG data. While Apple’s stock is up 7 percent this year, it still lags behind the Nasdaq’s 23 percent gain, highlighting the mixed investor sentiment as the company balances record valuations with AI ambitions still in development.
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