Apple briefly crossed the $5 trillion market valuation on Tuesday, becoming only the second company after Nvidia to reach the milestone.
This achievement came as investors continued to reward the iPhone maker’s measured approach to artificial intelligence and strong product demand.
The company’s shares climbed to an intraday high of $342.89, pushing its market capitalisation to $5.036 trillion. The stock later eased, trading around $339.33, leaving Apple valued at about $4.98 trillion by late trading.
Apple reclaimed its position as the world’s most valuable listed company earlier this month after overtaking Nvidia, which had held the top spot since June 2025.
Nvidia was the first company to surpass the $5 trillion mark in October 2025. Its shares were up about 0.5% on Tuesday, giving it a market value of roughly $4.78 trillion.
Apple’s shares have risen about 25% this year, outperforming other members of the Magnificent Seven, including Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet.
Investors have largely backed Apple’s decision to avoid the heavy spending on AI infrastructure that has become common among the biggest technology companies. Instead of building vast AI data centres, Apple has relied on Google’s AI technology to support new features, including an upgraded Siri expected later this year.
The company has also benefited from strong demand for its devices. Analysts say Apple’s decision to keep iPhone prices unchanged last month, even as it increased prices for MacBooks and iPads because of high cost of memory, encouraged more consumers to buy iPhones before any future price increases.
On Tuesday, Apple also introduced Upgrade, a new leasing programme in the United States in partnership with Klarna. Under the plan, customers can lease an iPhone from $17.99 per month, while Apple Watch and iPad plans start at $11.99monthly. Mac devices are available from $24.99 per month.
Commenting on the company’s strategy, Dipanjan Chatterjee, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, said:
“Apple has resisted the AI spending race, betting that customer experience, not infrastructure investment, will ultimately determine the winners.
“The new leasing program is a clever response: it doesn’t reduce the price of an iPhone, but it changes how consumers perceive the cost by replacing sticker shock with a predictable monthly payment,” he added.
Apple will report its third-quarter earnings after markets close on Thursday. Analysts expect quarterly revenue to increase by more than 15% compared with the same period last year.
The earnings call will also be significant because it is expected to be Tim Cook’s last as Apple’s chief executive before hardware chief John Ternus takes over the role in September.
Ternus is expected to lead the company’s next phase of growth, with a focus on expanding Apple’s hardware and entertainment ecosystem.
