Apple misses out on $3tn market value again as shares drop

Apple again missed out on an opportunity to reach a market capitalisation of $3 trillion as its shares dropped on Tuesday, halting a four-day winning streak.

The iPhone maker's stock declined 0.6 per cent to close at $179.29 as investors rotated out of big-tech names. The company remains within striking distance of a $3tn market value, which currently stands at $2.94tn.

Its share price climbed 0.4 per cent to $180.96 before the opening bell in New York on Tuesday, placing its market cap at $2.96tn. Based on outstanding shares, it needed to gain just a little over $1 to reach $182.86, the level that will allow it to become the first company to reach the milestone it has flirted with over the past few weeks.

California-based Apple's stock rose as high as $182.13 this month.

Apple shares gained in the past four trading sessions before the Tuesday drop, up 6.2 per cent during that run and ending Monday at a record.

“It's now one of the more richly valued companies in the market, which shows the dominance of US technology in the world and how confident investors are that it will remain in Apple’s hands. It seems like the stock has priced in every possible good outcome,” Brian Frank, a portfolio manager at Frank Capital, had said.

Apple began seriously aiming to breach the $3tn mark earlier this month when its market value hit $2.94tn on December 11. It dipped to $2.81tn a week later then rose again to $2.89tn at the end of last week.

Microsoft is the only other company in the $2tn club but is still a distant second.

Aside from Apple and Microsoft, the only other trillion-dollar companies in the world as of Tuesday are Google, oil producer Saudi Aramco, Amazon and electric vehicle maker Tesla, CompaniesMarketCap data show. Facebook owner Meta Platforms, the world's biggest social media network, has a market value of $962 billion.

The $3tn achievement would cap a very strong year for Apple – even stretching back to 2020. Year-to-date, its stock has jumped 36 per cent and has surged more than 200 per cent ever since Covid-19 forced the world into lockdowns in March last year.

The company was one of the few that did well during the pandemic, which highlighted the need for work, education, entertainment and staying connected remotely.

It reported a 62.2 per cent annual jump in its fiscal fourth-quarter net profit on the back of record revenue, which rose 29 per cent year-on-year to $83.4bn.

Apple strengthened its line-up over the past two years with two new iPhones, this year's iteration of which was well received because of its better cameras. It also released Mac computers and iPads using its new M1 processor, which has more power and is part of a major transition into using chips made in-house.

In October, New York-based management consulting firm Interbrand named Apple the best global brand for the ninth year in a row.