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FinanceApple tops $5 trillion market cap, second company ever to hit milestone
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Apple briefly became the second publicly traded company in history to reach a $5 trillion market capitalization on July 28, 2026, less than a year after hitting $4 trillion. The milestone was driven by strong iPhone sales, with stock up 24% year-to-date and nearly 60% over 12 months. Despite past investor criticism over lagging in AI, Apple signed a deal to use Google's Gemini AI for Siri and plans to launch an overhauled Siri alongside its first foldable iPhone and iPhone 18 lineup. Apple has been insulated from steep sell-offs faced by AI-focused rivals like Microsoft, but is contending with an AI-induced global memory shortage that has forced price hikes on Mac and iPad products. CEO Tim Cook is preparing to hand over leadership to John Ternus on September 1.
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By Daniel Howley Technology Editor, Yahoo Finance Tue, July 28, 2026 at 6:40 AM PDT 2 min read
- AAPL: -0.56%
- GOOG: +0.95%
Apple (AAPL) briefly became the second publicly traded company in history to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion on Tuesday.
The milestone comes less than a year after Apple surpassed $4 trillion in October 2025.
Apple stock is up approximately 24% year to date and nearly 60% over the past 12 months, driven by strong iPhone sales.
AI Challenges and Strategic Shifts
Investors had criticized Apple in recent years over concerns that the company was falling behind in the AI race. Although Apple launched its Apple Intelligence platform in 2024, key components—including an upgraded version of Siri—were delayed.
These delays led to executive shakeups at the company. Apple eventually signed a deal to use Google's (GOOG, GOOGL) Gemini AI models to power its voice assistant.
Apple is now expected to launch the overhauled Siri as a beta alongside its highly anticipated first foldable iPhone and the iPhone 18 lineup later this fall.
Stock Performance Compared to Big Tech Peers
Apple's limited AI exposure has meant it has not experienced the same explosive growth as some of its Big Tech peers since OpenAI released ChatGPT in November 2022.
- Nvidia (NVDA): Up approximately 1,125%
- Meta (META): Up approximately 386%
- Google: Up 226%
- Apple: Up 130%
However, Apple has also been insulated from some of the steep sell-offs faced by its AI-focused rivals. Microsoft (MSFT) stock, for example, has struggled since hitting an all-time closing high of $542.07 in October 2025, falling roughly 28% amid questions about AI spending and growth.
Impact of AI-Driven Memory Shortage
AI has affected Apple in another way. Like much of the consumer tech industry, the company is currently dealing with an AI-induced global memory and storage shortage.
This has forced Apple to raise prices on its Mac and iPad products, among others. While iPhone prices have not yet increased, that could change with the upcoming smartphone lineup.
Leadership Transition
These developments come as Apple CEO Tim Cook prepares to hand over the reins to incoming CEO John Ternus on September 1, marking one of the biggest leadership transitions in the company's history.
Jared Blikre contributed to this story.
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Apple tops $5 trillion market cap, only second company to hit the milestone