Apple's Market Cap Surpasses UK GDP

Record Highs Consecutive Days Push Market Cap Close to $3 Trillion
Growing Perception of 'Apple Stock = Safe Asset'

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The stock price of Apple, the world's largest company by market capitalization, has hit an all-time high for two consecutive days, bringing it close to surpassing a market cap of $3 trillion (approximately 3,531 trillion KRW). Apple, poised to become the first company in stock market history to reach a $3 trillion market cap, has already surpassed the GDP of the United Kingdom and the total market capitalization of the German stock market.

On the 8th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Apple's stock closed at $175.08, up 2.28% from the previous trading day, setting a new record high. This marks consecutive days of all-time highs following the previous day.

Apple's market capitalization expanded to $2.872 trillion. This growth exceeds last year's UK GDP ($2.7077 trillion) and the total market capitalization of the German stock market ($2.4727 trillion).

Apple's achievement amid the global financial market volatility caused by the Omicron variant is attributed to the global investment bank Morgan Stanley raising its target price from $164 to $200, stating that "Apple's innovation has not been fully reflected in its stock price."

Katie Huberty, a Morgan Stanley analyst, said, "The market will truly expand when Apple enters with new augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) products," and forecasted, "Apple's related new products are expected to generate about $29 billion in revenue by 2026."

Apple plans to launch an XR headset in the second half of next year and the autonomous vehicle 'Apple Car' in 2025. In particular, the XR headset can simultaneously implement AR and VR, making it essential hardware for realizing the metaverse (extended virtual world).

In a situation where market uncertainty is increasing, investors are also showing a tendency to regard Apple stock, which holds a large amount of cash, as a safe asset.

Bloomberg reported, "Amid concerns over interest rate hikes and economic growth contraction due to COVID-19, investors view Apple, which continuously increases sales and holds sufficient cash, as a safe investment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.