Today in Apple history: Apple market cap breezes by Walmart

By

Apple could be a $2 trillion company by end of 2021
At this point, a $200 billion market cap seems almost quaint for Apple.
Photo illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

March 12: Today in Apple history: Apple overtakes Walmart in value March 12, 2010: Apple passes Walmart and investment firm Berkshire Hathaway in value to take third place in market capitalization among publicly listed U.S. companies. The Apple market cap soars past $200 billion, fueled by intense excitement over the first-generation iPad.

Things look good for the company as it guns for powerhouses ExxonMobil and Microsoft.

Apple’s climb to the top of the stock market

At the time, AAPL was trading at $226 per share. Today, it trades higher than $172, but bear in mind that a seven-to-one stock split took place in 2014 after AAPL peaked at $645. If that split hadn’t happened, Apple would now be trading at a much higher price.

Back in 2010, it didn’t take Apple long to catch up to market leaders ExxonMobil and Microsoft after passing Walmart. In May 2010, Apple overtook Microsoft, surpassing the tech giant that dominated Cupertino during the previous decade. A little over a year after that, on August 9, 2011, Apple blew past oil giant ExxonMobil to become the world’s most valuable company.

In all, it was an astonishing turnaround for a company that came perilously close to going out of business during the 1990s.

Apple market cap heads for $1 trillion

Today, Apple has long since passed its $200 billion valuation. It went on to become the first company in history to reach the $700 billion, the $800 billion and the $900 billion marks. That was all en route to the $3 trillion mark, which Apple achieved on January 3, 2022. (That peak didn’t last: Today, Apple’s market cap sits at $2.66 trillion.)

Did you follow Apple during its climb to the top of the stock market? Did you possess the foresight to invest before the Apple market cap shot sky-high? Let us know in the comments below.

Also on this day…

HomePod audio quality is great out of the box, and Siri turns out to be a pleasant surprise.
Despite a price cut, the original HomePod never sold as well as its rivals.

2021: Apple kills original HomePod to concentrate on HomePod mini

Apple discontinues the full-size HomePod just three years after launching the smart speaker. The company says it will focus its audio energy on the HomePod mini, a smaller version launched in November 2020.

The original HomePod wowed owners with its impressive audio but failed to make a dent in the smart speaker market dominated by Amazon’s Echo lineup. The second-gen HomePod arrived in 2023 with a similar design, a lower starting price and scaled-back components.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.