Tech titans Apple and Microsoft join the $4 trillion club

Apple and Microsoft have both reached a market capitalisation of over $4 trillion, marking a historic moment for the global technology industry.

This is the first time Apple’s valuation has crossed the $4 trillion threshold, making it the third company ever to achieve the milestone — following Nvidia and Microsoft. Redmond-based Microsoft first touched the mark in July before briefly dipping to $3.9 trillion. Its valuation rebounded this week to cross $4 trillion again, buoyed by the announcement of a renewed partnership with OpenAI.

Apple’s rise has been equally remarkable. The company hit $1 trillion in 2018, $2 trillion in 2020, and $3 trillion in 2022. Its stock has surged in recent weeks, driven by strong demand for the newly launched iPhone 17 series, which is reportedly outperforming previous models in sales. Apple is scheduled to announce its Q4 2025 earnings on Thursday, 30 October.

Microsoft’s gains have been powered by robust demand for its Azure cloud platform, which provides OpenAI’s large language models and the computing infrastructure essential for AI development. The company disclosed on Tuesday that its 27% stake in OpenAI is now valued at approximately $135 billion. Microsoft will report its quarterly results on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Alphabet — Google’s parent company — is approaching the same landmark, with a current market capitalisation of around $3.25 trillion.