Apple crossed a market capitalization of $5 trillion for the first time ever during intraday trading on Tuesday. Apple is only the second publicly traded company ever to cross the threshold.

Market capitalization is calculated by multiplying a company’s share price by its outstanding shares. The precise price required can shift as Apple continues its share-buyback program.

The achievement comes after Apple first touched $4.9 trillion and traded places with Nvidia to reclaim the title of world’s most valuable company. The two have continued to swap positions. Apple has now joined Nvidia in a club no other public company has entered.

Nvidia became the first $5 trillion company on October 29, 2025, powered by extraordinary demand for GPUs used to train and run generative AI systems. Apple is the second firm to reach $5T, a reversal from the first three rounds of the trillion-dollar race.

Apple became the world’s first publicly traded $1 trillion company on August 2, 2018, when AAPL crossed $207.05 before its later stock split. It needed just over two years to double that valuation, becoming the first company to hit $2 trillion on August 19, 2020.

Less than 17 months later, Apple again made history as the first company to touch $3 trillion during intraday trading on January 3, 2022. AAPL later recorded the first market close above $3 trillion in June 2023.

The streak ended with the next trillion. Apple reached $4 trillion for the first time on October 28, 2025, making it the third company to get there after Nvidia and Microsoft. Nvidia was first in July 2025, with Microsoft following later that month.

As always, the milestone is more symbolic than operational. Still, $5 trillion puts Wall Street’s confidence in Apple into extraordinary perspective and marks a fivefold increase in roughly eight years.

The milestone also comes as Apple is undergoing a CEO transition. Tim Cook will become executive chairman of the board on September 1 when John Ternus is elevated to Apple CEO.

Apple will report its latest quarterly earnings results on July 30.