Apple becomes the world’s first trillion-dollar company: Who’s next?

Swanky consumer goods producer Apple has gained the title of the world’s first ever trillion-dollar company as its share price shot up overnight off the back of some above average results for the June quarter.

Apple’s market capitalisation currently sits at $US1.004 trillion ($1.35 trillion) with a share price of $US207.39. Australia’s gross domestic product for 2016 was $US1.205 trillion, which gives you an idea of the absurdity of Apple’s wealth.

Founded in 1976 by the late Steve Jobs, Apple’s rise to prominence has been firmly on the back of its high-end consumer technology products, pioneering personal music devices with the iPod, and moving into the world of smartphones and laptops with its iPhones and Macs.

Astonishingly, not only is Apple one of the highest-valued companies in the world, it’s also one of the most profitable. In the last three months of 2017, the company made a $US20 billion profit, and its current cash reserves sit at about $US267.2 billion.

That’s a lot of iPhones.

In the race to $US1 trillion, it was Amazon and Apple in the running, with analysts unsure which of the two tech behemoths would take the crown. In the end, Apple was victorious, with Amazon’s market cap still sitting at $US884 billion.

For reference, the company closest to $US1 trillion in Australia is Commonwealth Bank, which has a market cap of $128 billion ($US 94 billion), followed by BHP Billiton at $108 billion.

Who’s next?

For now, it would be most likely that Amazon would be the next to the fabled trillion-dollar mark as it’s only a measly ~$US120 billion off. However, looking at Forbes’ top 2000 public companies, there are a number who could theoretically be in the running.

That includes Alphabet (aka Google) at $US766.4 billion, Microsoft at $US750.6 billion, and Facebook at $US541.5 billion — though with the bad press surrounding Facebook, it might need a bit of time to acquire another $US500-odd billion.

When it comes to non-US based companies, there are fewer players, with the only ones realistically with a shot being Alibaba or Tencent, worth $US499.4 and $US491.3 billion respectively.

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