Kelly Evans reports on 'The Exchange' that Apple has hit a $3 trillion in market cap. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO: https://cnb.cx/2NGeIvi 

Apple briefly hit a market cap of $3 trillion during intraday trading on Monday, before dropping back under the mark shortly afterwards. Apple broke the barrier when its share price hit $182.86.

The milestone is mostly symbolic but it shows investors remain bullish on Apple stock and its ability to grow. Apple was up over 2% during intraday trading on Monday to a price per share just under $182 after briefly hitting the $3 trillion mark.

At a market value of $3 trillion, Apple tripled its valuation in under four years. And analysts see plenty of room to run.

Apple showed annual growth across all of its product categories in its fourth-quarter earnings, with revenue up 29% year-over-year. While the iPhone is still the biggest sales driver, Apple’s services business grew 25.6% year-over-year and delivered more than $18 billion in revenue during the quarter.

In December, for example, Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty raised the firm’s price target on Apple from $164 to $200, and maintained the equivalent of a buy rating, arguing that new products like virtual reality and augmented reality headsets aren’t yet baked into the share price.

Huberty also said she expects Apple’s App Store revenue to outperform Morgan Stanley’s forecasts for the quarter and for Apple to ship 83 million units during the December quarter, 3 million more than anticipated.

Apple sold 27 million pairs of its newest AirPods model over the holidays, driving 20% year-over-year growth for Apple’s wearables business during the quarter, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TFI Asset Management Limited said in a Monday note.

Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives wrote on Sunday that the mark is a “watershed moment” but has more room to grow, especially since Ives values Apple’s services business at $1.5 trillion.

Investors also turned to Apple as a safe haven during recent market uncertainty, thanks to its strong balance sheet and prodigious cash flow, which it uses to invest in new products, stock buybacks and to return capital to shareholders through dividends.

Apple became the first publicly traded U.S. company to hit a $1 trillion market cap during intraday trading on Aug. 2, 2018. It hit a $2 trillion valuation just over two years later on Aug. 19, 2020.

Apple’s peers aren’t far behind. Microsoft is worth about $2.5 trillion, Amazon has about a $1.75 market cap and Google’s market valuation is just shy of $2 trillion.

Apple stock rose 34% in 2021.

» Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision
» Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC

Turn to CNBC TV for the latest stock market news and analysis. From market futures to live price updates CNBC is the leader in business news worldwide.

The News with Shepard Smith is CNBC’s daily news podcast providing deep, non-partisan coverage and perspective on the day’s most important stories. Available to listen by 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT daily beginning September 30: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/29/the-n...
 
Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news: http://www.cnbc.com/
Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Twitter: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC

https://www.cnbc.com/select/best-cred...

#CNBC
#CNBCTV