Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) Now Officially Worth More Than the GDP of 187 Individual Countries

Apple shares take been incessantly traversing an up ramp since striking the yr-to-date low of $224.37 on the 23rd of March. As a issue of this 100 per centum plus rally, the iconic iPhone maker's stock surpassed the threshold toll level of $467.76 merely moments ago, culminating in a market capitalization of $2.0 trillion. The stock is currently trading at $467.72.

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Interestingly, if Apple were a country, information technology would be classified as the 9th richest one. This comparison assumes an equivalence betwixt marketplace capitalization and the Gross domestic product metric.

(All GDP figures are in trillions of dollars and sourced from here)

As illustrated in the nautical chart above, at a hypothetical ninth place among the global grouping of 195 countries, Apple would supersede the GDP of 187 individual countries!

Two factors have played an important function in spurring Apple toward its $2 trillion valuation. Get-go, the stock marketplace trades on expectations of future growth and Apple seems poised to hit a jackpot with the imminent launch of 5G-enabled iPhones. Analysts take long expected this development to unleash an upgrade supercycle, thereby, providing ample room for elevation-line growth. Second, despite the ongoing ravaging effects of the coronavirus (COVID-xix) pandemic, the company managed to increase its Q3 2020 revenue by xi percent on an annual basis. This achievement serves to highlight the demand resilience for Apple tree's production line-up.

Nonetheless, the ongoing rally in Apple shares does acquit a material risk. Equally an analogy, Banking concern of America analyst, Wamsi Mohan, downgraded Apple from a 'Buy' to a 'Neutral' rating on the 5th of August. Mohan noted that the stock has undergone significant multiple expansion recently without a corresponding modify in 2021 estimates. According to the analyst, this paradigm has created a risk/advantage imbalance given that the stock is currently trading at stretched valuations, corresponding to the highest premium to the South&P 500 alphabetize in over 10 years.

Of class, this milestone comes at the heels of a somewhat dramatic episode recently. Irked by the xxx percent committee charged by Apple on all App Shop sales, Epic Games introduced a direct payment style in its wildly popular Fortnite game on the 13th of Baronial. This prompted Apple to remove Fortnite from its App Store for violating its explicit terms and conditions. However, it appears that Epic was anticipating this move by Apple. Within moments, the gaming company filed a lawsuit confronting the iPhone maker and launched an active social media campaign confronting the supposedly monopolistic nature of Apple's App Store usage terms. Given the stakes involved, this lawsuit by Epic Games has the potential of upending the prevailing App Store regime and catalyzing a textile impact on the segment's finances.