The First Trillion Dollar Company

Apple was the first trillion-dollar company. It closed above a $1 trillion market value for the first time on August 2, 2018, the first publicly traded US company to reach that level. A wave of others followed within a few years: Amazon and Microsoft, then Saudi Aramco through its 2019 IPO, then Alphabet, and in 2021 Bitcoin became the first non-company to cross $1 trillion. See the full standings on the Kilocorn Club.

Apple, the first trillion-dollar company

Apple crossed the line first. On August 2, 2018 its shares closed at a level that valued the company above $1 trillion, a first for any US public company. It went on to reach $2 trillion in 2020 and $3 trillion in 2023, each milestone faster than the last. The table lists each member by the date it first reached $1 trillion. For Apple's current value, see Apple's market cap.

The companies that followed

Amazon touched $1 trillion intraday in September 2018, weeks after Apple. Microsoft closed above $1 trillion on April 25, 2019. Saudi Aramco crossed it in December 2019 right after its IPO, the first non-US and first energy member. Alphabet joined in early 2020. In February 2021 Bitcoin became the first non-company to pass $1 trillion. Tesla and Meta both reached it in 2021, and NVIDIA in 2023 on the way to becoming the most valuable company of all. For the live ranking, see the most valuable companies.

What about PetroChina in 2007?

PetroChina is sometimes called the first $1 trillion company. On its Shanghai debut in November 2007 it briefly touched a $1 trillion valuation intraday, but it did not close there and the price fell hard within weeks. Because it never held the mark, most counts do not credit it as the first. By that standard Apple in 2018 is the first company to reach and hold a $1 trillion valuation. For where the term fits among unicorns and decacorns, see what is a unicorn company.