By Akash Sriram and Noel Randewich
Apple's stock climbed to an intra-day record high on Wednesday, and was on the cusp of ending the session for the first time with a market capitalization above $3 trillion.
The iPhone maker's shares rose as much as 1% to $189.90, their highest ever. With the stock last trading off that session high, up 0.4% at $188.81, the iPhone maker's stock market value stood at $2.97 trillion, according to Refinitiv data.
Apple's stock market value briefly peaked above $3 trillion in intra-day trading on Jan. 3, 2022 before closing the session just below that mark.
The latest gains in the shares of the world's most valuable company follow strong rebounds this year from several of Wall Street's technology-related heavyweights, fueled by bets that the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its campaign of interest rate hikes, and by optimism about the potential for artificial intelligence.
"There hasn't really been any new information fundamentally that would be supportive of the stock move," said Thomas Martin, Senior Portfolio Manager at Globalt Investments. "What you're left with is, you know, the market itself."
Apple has jumped 46% in 2023, while Nvidia has surged 185%, making it the first chipmaker with a stock market value over $1 trillion. Tesla and Meta Platforms have more than doubled this year, and Microsoft has added 40%.
Apple's approach toward its $3 trillion milestone follows the June 5 launch of a pricey augmented-reality headset, its riskiest bet since the introduction of the iPhone more than a decade ago.
As well, Apple's most recent quarterly report in May showed a drop in revenue and profits, but still beat analysts' expectations. Along with a steady track record of stock buybacks, those financial results reinforced its reputation among investors as a safe investment at a time of global economic uncertainty.
The recent gains in Apple's shares have outpaced analysts' estimates for the company's future earnings. The stock is now trading at about 29 times expected earnings, its highest multiple since February 2022, according to Refinitiv data.
(Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by David Gregorio)