On 3 December which was also the first trading day of this year, Apple hit a market cap of $3 trillion as its stock price reached the $182.86 mark during the intraday trading. 16 months ago in August 2020, it reached its $2 trillion market cap. In August 2018, Apple’s market value reached the $1 trillion mark.

Apple is the first company in the world to reach the $1 trillion, $2 trillion and $3 trillion marks. According to Market Insider, strong demand for Apple's iPhone 12 and 13 models has driven record revenue and profits which led to this milestone. 

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the achievement was “not the most important measure of our success,” adding that “financial returns are simply the result of Apple's innovation, putting our products and customers first, and always staying true to our values”.

One day before this achievement, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives projected that Apple will have a strong year in 2022, especially as it plans to launch a new AR headset product later this year.

“Hitting $3 trillion is another historical moment for Apple as the company continues to prove the doubters wrong with the renaissance of growth story playing out in Cupertino,” Ives said. 

However, the stock price dropped back under the mark shortly afterwards as the stock market closed at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time.